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Full text of "International terrorism : Buenos Aires, Panama, and London : joint hearing before the Subcommittees on International Security, International Organizations, and Human Rights and the Western Hemisphere of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, August 1, 1994"

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^0      INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM:  BUENOS  AIRES, 
V^  PANAMA  AND  LONDON 


Y  4,F  76/1:  T  27/6 

International  Terrorisn:   Buenos  ftir. . . 

JOINT  HEARING 

BEFORE  THE 

SUBCOMMITTEES  ON 

INTERNATIONAL  SECURITY,  INTERNATIONAL 

ORGANIZATIONS  AND  HUMAN  RIGHTS 

AND 

THE  WESTERN  HEMISPHERE 

OF  THE 

COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS 
HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE  HUNDRED  THIRD  CONGRESS 

SECOND  SESSION 


AUGUST  1,  1994 


Printed  for  the  use  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs 

s 


MAP    6t995 


U.S.  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
84-344  CC  WASHINGTON   :  1994 

For  sale  by  the  U.S.  Government  Printing  Office 
Superintendent  of  Documents,  Congressional  Sales  Office,  Washington.  DC  20402 
ISBN  0-16-046261-4 


J      INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM:  BUENOS  AIRES, 
'  PANAMA  AND  LONDON 


Y  4,F76/1:T  27/6 

International  Terrorisn:   Buenos  ftir. . . 

JOINT  HEARING 

BEFORE  THE 

SUBCOMMITTEES  ON 

INTERNATIONAL  SECURITY,  INTERNATIONAL 

ORGANIZATIONS  AND  HUMAN  RIGHTS 

AND 

THE  WESTERN  HEMISPHERE 

OF  THE 

COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS 
HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE  HUNDRED  THIRD  CONGRESS 

SECOND  SESSION 


AUGUST  1,  1994 


Printed  for  the  use  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs 

6ui 


MAP    6t995 


'^^^»!»^^l 


U.S.  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
84-344  CC  WASHINGTON   :  1994 

For  sale  by  the  U.S.  Government  Printing  Office 
Superintendent  of  Documents,  Congressional  Sales  Office,  Washington,  DC  20402 
ISBN  0-16-046261-4 


COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS 
LEE  H.  HAMILTON,  Indiana,  Chairman 


SAM  GEJDENSON,  Connecticut 

TOM  LANTOS,  California 

ROBERT  G.  TORRICELLI,  New  Jersey 

HOWARD  L.  BERMAN,  California 

GARY  L.  ACKERMAN,  New  York 

HARRY  JOHNSTON,  Florida 

ELIOT  L.  ENGEL,  New  York 

ENI  F.H.  FALEOMAVAEGA,  American 

Samoa 
JAMES  L.  OBERSTAR,  Minnesota 
CHARLES  E.  SCHUMER,  New  York 
MATTHEW  G.  MARTINEZ,  California 
ROBERT  A.  BORSKI,  Pennsylvania 
DONALD  M.  PAYNE,  New  Jersey 
ROBERT  E.  ANDREWS,  New  Jersey 
ROBERT  MENENDEZ,  New  Jersey 
SHERROD  BROWN,  Ohio 
CYNTHIA  A.  McKINNEY,  Georgia 
MARIA  CANTWELL,  Washington 
ALCEE  L.  HASTINGS,  Florida 
ERIC  FINGERHUT,  Ohio 
PETER  DEUTSCH,  Florida 
ALBERT  RUSSELL  WYNN,  Maryland 
DON  EDWARDS,  California 
FRANK  MCCLOSKEY,  Indiana 
THOMAS  C.  SAWYER,  Ohio 
LUIS  V.  GUTIERREZ,  Illinois 

Michael  H.  Van  Dusen,  Chief  of  Staff 
Richard  J.  Garon,  Minority  Chief  of  Staff 
„.JCysa?JlAH;^AUCER,-  Professional  Staff  Member 
.  ..■:   rU  iii  iT.-J^''-^-;;    'Jo  Webkr,  Staff  Associate 
-    ^  » •■  '.'~^'  ^3iil^UAGROS  Martinez,  Staff  Associate 


BENJAMIN  A.  OILMAN,  New  York 
WILLIAM  F.  GOODLING,  Pennsylvania 
JAMES  A.  LEACH,  Iowa 
TOBY  ROTH,  Wisconsin 
OLYMPIA  J.  SNOWE,  Maine 
HENRY  J.  HYDE,  Illinois 
DOUG  BEREUTER,  Nebraska 
CHRISTOPHER  H.  SMITH,  New  Jersey 
DAN  BURTON,  Indiana 
JAN  MEYERS,  Kansas 
ELTON  GALLEGLY,  California 
ILEANA  ROS-LEHTINEN,  Florida 
CASS  BALLENGER,  North  Carolina 
DANA  ROHRABACHER,  California 
DAVID  A.  LEVY,  New  York 
DONALD  A.  MANZULLO,  Illinois 
LINCOLN  DIAZ-BALART,  Florida 
EDWARD  R.  ROYCE,  California 


(II) 


mi  w^ 


»'^-*' 


A^■^%■t^'  *' 


International  Security,  International  Organization  and  Human  Rights 

TOM  LANTOS,  California,  Chairman 

HOWARD  L.  HERMAN,  California  DOUG  BEREUTER,  Nebraska 

GARY  L.  ACKERMAN,  New  York  OLYMPIA  J.  SNOWE,  Maine 

MATTHEW  G.  MARTINEZ,  California  CHRISTOPHER  H.  SMITH,  New  Jersey 

FRANK  McCLOSKEY,  Indiana  DAN  BURTON,  Indiana 

THOMAS  C.  SAWYER,  Ohio 

Robert  King,  Staff  Director 

Michael  Ennis,  Republican  Professional  Staff  Member 

Theodore  M.  HIRSCH,  Professional  Staff  Member 

Beth  L.  PoissoN,  Professional  Staff  Member 

Andrea  L.  Nelson,  Professional  Staff  Member 


Subcommittee  on  the  Western  Hemisphere 

ROBERT  G.  TORRICELLI,  New  Jersey,  Chairman 
ROBERT  MENENDEZ,  New  Jersey  CHRISTOPHER  H.  SMITH,  New  Jersey 

JAMES  L.  OBERSTAR,  Minnesota  ILEANA  ROS-LEHTINEN,  Florida 

CYNTHIA  A.  MCKINNEY,  Georgia  CASS  BALLENGER,  North  Carohna 

PETER  DEUTSCH,  Florida  ELTON  GALLEGLY,  California 

ALBERT  RUSSELL  WYNN,  Maryland 

Rob  Henken,  Staff  Director 

Dorothy  TaFT,  Republican  Professional  Staff  Member 

ALAN  Fleischmann,  Professional  Staff  Member 

(in) 


CONTENTS 


WITNESSES 


Page 

Hon.  Raul  Enrique  Granillo  Ocampo,  Ambassador  of  Argentina  4 

Steven  Emerson,  specialist  on  international  terrorism  and  radical  fundamen- 
talism and  author H 

Ruben  Beraja,  president,  Delegation  of  Argentine  Jewish  Associations  (DAIA)  15 

Barbara  A.  Bodine,  Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism,  Department  of  State  ....  27 

APPENDIX 

Prepared  statements: 

Hon.  Tom  Lantos  39 

Ambassador  Raul  Granillo  Ocampo  40 

Steven  Emerson  60 

Dr.  Ruben  Beraja  "75 

Ms.  Barbara  A.  Bodine  

Hon.  Gary  Ackerman 80 

The  Inter-Parlimentary  Council  Against  Anti-Semitism  84 

United  Kingdom  on  Buenos  Aires/London  bombings   86 

Speech  delivered  by  Dr.  Ruben  Beraja  on  July  21,   1994   at  a  public  rally 

held  in  Buenos  Aires  92 

Rabbi  Avi  Weis,  prepared  statement   94 


(V) 


INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM:  BUENOS  AIRES, 
PANAMA  AND  LONDON 


MONDAY,  AUGUST  1,  1994 

House  of  Representatives, 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs, 
Subcommittee    on    International   Security,    Inter- 
national Organizations  and  Human  Rights,  joint 
WITH   THE   Subcommittee   on  the   Western   Hemi- 
sphere, 

Washington,  DC. 

The  subcommittees  met,  pursuant  to  call,  at  10:07  a.m.  in  room 
2172,  Rayburn  House  Office  Building,  Hon.  Tom  Lantos  (Sub- 
committee on  International  Security,  International  Organizations 
and  Human  Rights)  presiding. 

Mr.  Lantos.  The  subcommittee  on  International  Security,  Inter- 
national Organizations  and  Human  Rights  and  the  Subcommittee 
on  the  Western  Hemisphere  will  be  in  order. 

Today  the  subcommittees  will  focus  their  attention  on  inter- 
national terrorism  in  the  aftermath  of  the  recent  outbreak  of  ter- 
rorist bombings  in  Buenos  Aires,  London,  and  Panama. 

On  the  surface,  these  terrorist  bombings  appear  to  be  new  at- 
tacks against  Israeli  and  Jewish  targets.  The  bomb  in  Buenos  Aires 
was  directed  against  the  Jewish  Community  Center  and  it  was 
strikingly  similar  to  a  bombing  against  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Bue- 
nos Aires  just  2  years  ago. 

The  two  bombs  in  London  were  directed  against  the  Israeli  Em- 
bassy and  against  a  Jewish  Community  Center  there.  In  reality, 
however,  we  are  facing  a  new  and  violent  upsurge  in  a  much  broad- 
er, more  insidious  and  dangerous  war  against  civilized  societies, 
against  democracy  and  pluralism,  against  the  West. 

Just  a  year-and-a-half  ago,  one  of  the  first  series  of  hearings  I 
conducted  as  chairman  of  this  subcommittee  was  on  the  bombing 
of  the  World  Trade  Center  in  New  York.  That  terrorist  attack  re- 
sulted in  the  death  of  several  people,  injury  to  hundreds,  and  prop- 
erty damage  at  astronomical  levels. 

Last  Thursday  in  this  room,  the  subcommittee  held  yet  another 
hearing  on  the  terrorist  attack  against  an  American  aircraft.  Pan 
Am  flight  103,  which  exploded  over  Lockerbie,  Scotland  almost  6 
years  ago.  That  terrorist  atrocity  resulted  in  the  death  of  over  250 
innocent  people,  including  189  American  citizens,  Catholics,  Protes- 
tants, and  Jews. 

In  this  morning's  New  York  Times,  an  article,  "Iran  Wages  Fierce 
Campaign  Against  Its  Christian  Minority",  has  the  following  to 
say: 

(1) 


"The  Islamic  Government  of  Iran,  which  has  often  been  criticized 
by  human  rights  groups  for  its  treatment  of  religious  minorities,  is 
mounting  the  fiercest  campaign  since  the  1979  revolution  against 
the  small  Christian  minority  here,  church  leaders  and  Western  dip- 
lomats say. 

"Three  Christian  leaders  have  been  killed  since  the  beginning  of 
the  year.  Churches  have  been  shot  down,  scores  of  young  Chris- 
tians, many  converts  from  Islam  have  been  imprisoned  and  tor- 
tured, especially  in  the  cities  of  Gorgan  and  Kermanshah,  church 
officials  say.  And  pastors  have  been  expelled  from  parishes  or  are 
under  surveillance. 

"Even  by  the  standards  of  Iran,  the  current  crackdown  is  extraor- 
dinary, says  a  senior  Western  diplomat  in  Tehran. 

"In  a  population  of  roughly  62  million  people,"  says  the  New  York 
Times  article,  "Iran's  religious  minorities  include  3V2  million  Sunni 
Muslims,  350,000  followers  of  the  Bahai  faith,  80,000  Christians, 
and  30,000  Jews.  The  Bahais  have  seen  over  200  of  their  followers 
executed  since  the  revolution.  Tens  of  thousands  of  Christians,  as 
well  as  Jews  and  Bahais,  have  fled  Iran  in  the  last  15  years.  A  sen- 
ior Western  diplomat  says  evangelical  groups  appear  slated  for 
eradication. 

"The  Assemblies  of  God  Church,  which  has  8,000  members  in 
Iran,  is  the  most  active  in  the  evangelical  movement  and  is  the 
main  target  of  the  crackdown.  A  lot  of  young  Iranians,  embittered 
by  the  austerity  and  control  imposed  by  these  Islamic  clerics,  seek 
conversion  as  one  of  the  most  potent  forms  of  protest. 

"Church  leaders  say  Iranian  officials  forced  them  a  few  days  ago 
to  ask  a  delegation  of  Western  clergymen  not  to  come  to  Iran  to  in- 
vestigate the  death  of  Christian  leaders.  The  delegation  had  been 
invited  by  the  government.  One  of  those  killed  was  Mehdi  Dibaj, 
an  Assemblies  of  God  leader  who  was  imprisoned  for  9  years  and 
sentenced  to  death  for  apostasy.  He  was  freed  in  January,  but  dis- 
appeared in  June.  On  July  3,  the  police  delivered  his  mutilated 
body  to  his  family. 

"Another  was  Bishop  Haik  Hovsepian  Mehr,  head  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Council  of  Pastors  in  Iran  who  had  campaigned  relentlessly 
for  Mr.  Dibaj's  release  from  prison.  He  disappeared  3  days  after 
Mr.  Dibaj  was  freed,  and  11  days  later  his  body,  covered  with  stab 
wounds,  was  turned  over  to  his  family. 

"On  June  29,  the  Reverend  Tatavous  Mikaelian,  a  prominent 
Presbyterian  minister  who  succeeded  the  bishop  as  head  of  the 
council,  disappeared.  His  bullet-riddled  corpse  was  turned  over  to 
his  son  on  July  2  by  the  police."  It  would  be  naive  indeed  not  to 
make  a  connection  of  all  these  events. 

The  collapse  of  the  Soviet  empire,  which  represented  a  global 
military  threat  to  the  civilized  world,  has  now  left  the  United 
States  in  a  position  that  there  is  no  military  force  today  that  can 
defeat  us  on  the  battlefield.  But  pain  and  suffering  and  chaos  can 
be  inflicted  on  the  United  States  and  on  the  civilized  world  by  ter- 
rorists on  the  streets  of  our  cities,  in  our  airports,  and  on  our  air- 
craft. 

And  the  horror  and  destruction  that  we  have  already  seen  are 
only  a  small  part  of  what  we  could  see  in  the  future.  Just  a  few 
weeks  ago  in  this  hearing  room,  the  subcommittee  heard  from  the 


Director  of  Central  Intelligence,  James  Woolsey.  He  testified  of  the 
potential  danger  of  Soviet  nuclear  weapons  falling  into  the  hands 
of  terrorists. 

Clearly  the  kind  of  people  who  bombed  Pan  Am  103,  who  bombed 
the  World  Trade  Center,  and  who  carried  out  the  series  of  bomb- 
ings of  the  last  few  weeks  are  capable  of  seeking  and  using  nuclear 
weapons,  as  well  as  weapons  of  a  chemical  and  biological  nature. 

While  we  don't  have  total  information  as  yet  about  the  specific 
individuals  and  groups  who  perpetrated  some  of  the  latest  terrorist 
incidents  in  Buenos  Aires,  Panama  and  London,  we  do  have  a  very 
clear  picture  of  the  leaders  and  of  the  countries  that  are  behind 
these  and  similar  incidents. 

These  latest  bombings  have  the  clear  imprint  of  Iran  and  its  ally, 
Hizballah,  the  radical  Muslim  organization  in  Lebanon.  But  others 
have  also  been  involved  in  past  terrorist  activities  and  may  be  in- 
volved in  these,  including  Libya,  Syria,  Iraq,  and  North  Korea. 

At  the  same  time,  irresponsible  Western  commercial  interests  are 
hell  bent  on  providing  the  most  dangerous  ingredients  of  weapons 
of  mass  destruction  to  rogue  regimes.  They  are  stumbling  all  over 
themselves  to  sell  these  dangerous  products  to  make  a  profit,  irre- 
spective of  what  this  means  to  civilized  society. 

These  latest  terrorist  attacks  must  be  a  wake-up  call  to  the  en- 
tire civilized  world — a  call  to  awareness  of  the  real  and  serious 
dangers  to  our  lives,  to  our  way  of  thinking,  to  our  civilization.  We 
must  give  serious  and  urgent  attention  to  this  wave  of  attacks 
against  the  West,  rather  than  to  side  shows  and  morbid  entertain- 
ment, like  the  O.J.  Simpson  affair,  that  currently  seem  to  fill  our 
awareness  and  receive  the  bulk  of  our  news  Media's  attention. 

It  is  for  reasons  of  focusing  attention  and  taking  action  that  the 
incoming  Republican  leader.  Congressman  Newt  Gingrich  and  I, 
are  introducing  a  bipartisan  resolution  calling  on  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  convene  at  the  summit  level  an  action-ori- 
ented conference  on  international  terrorism. 

It  is  essential  that  we  give  the  greatest  attention  to  this  issue  so 
that  Tehran,  the  leaders  of  Hizballah  in  the  Bekaa  Valley  of  Leb- 
anon, and  the  leaders  of  other  rogue  regimes  which  sponsor  or  shel- 
ter terrorism  will  know  that  the  West  is  prepared  to  defend  itself 
against  terrorism,  no  less  than  it  was  ready  and  prepared  to  defend 
itself  against  the  Soviet  Union. 

This  hearing  has  been  prepared  by  a  number  of  Democratic  and 
Republican  staff  members  and  I  wdnt  to  acknowledge  them.  First, 
Andrea  Nelson,  Beth  Poisson,  Ted  Hirsch,  Jo  Weber,  John  Peter- 
son, Christoff  Laubry,  Jamie  King,  and  our  staff  director.  Dr.  Rob- 
ert King.  And,  on  the  Republican  side,  Mike  Ennis. 

I  will  place  in  the  record,  without  objection,  a  statement  submit- 
ted by  the  Grovernment  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  a  variety  of 
other  statements.  The  record  will  remain  open  for  the  submission 
of  appropriate  additional  testimony. 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Mr.  Lantos  appears  in  the  appendix.] 

Mr.  Lantos.  We  will  begin  this  morning's  hearing  with  His  Ex- 
cellency, Raul  Enrique  Granillo  Ocampo,  the  distinguished  Ambas- 
sador of  Argentina,  who  will  read  a  statement  on  behalf  of  the  For- 
eign Minister  and  President  of  Argentina.  We  are  very  pleased  to 
have  you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  and  your  associates. 


You  may  proceed  any  way  you  choose. 

STATEMENT  OF  HON.  RAUL  ENRIQUE  GRANILLO  OCAMPO, 
AMBASSADOR  OF  ARGENTINA 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  am  honored 
to  be  here  this  morning  in  response  to  your  invitation  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Argentina  to  make  a  statement  on  the  recent  bombing 
in  Buenos  Aires  of  the  headquarters  of  the  Argentine  Israeli  Mu- 
tual Aid  Association  and  the  Delegation  of  Argentine  Israeli  Asso- 
ciation (DAIA). 

My  statement  will  be  offered  in  the  spirit  of  international  co- 
operation against  terrorism  already  established  between  our  two 
governments. 

In  a  few  minutes,  your  Subcommittees  on  International  Security, 
International  Organizations  and  Human  Rights  and  on  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere  will  conduct  a  joint  hearing  to  examine  recent 
international  terrorist  attacks  on  Israeli  and  Jewish  institutions 
around  the  world,  including  the  one  carried  out  exactly  a  fortnight 
ago  in  Argentina. 

Your  witnesses'  comments  and  your  subcommittees'  reports  will 
be  of  great  interest  to  my  government  and  also  underline  the  truly 
international  response  terrorists  will  confront  in  their  criminal 
acts. 

Regarding  what  occurred  in  Argentina  and  how  it  might  relate 
to  other  similar  attacks,  let  me  first  recall  that  on  Monday,  July 
18  at  9:57  a.m.,  Buenos  Aires,  capital  and  major  city  of  Argentina, 
was  struck  by  international  terrorism.  The  AMIA/DAIA  bombing 
has  been  considered  the  most  important  terrorist  incident  in  Ar- 
gentine history  and  the  most  serious  attack  on  the  Jewish  commu- 
nity anywhere  in  the  world  since  World  War  II,  leaving  82  people 
dead,  227  injured,  and  15  missing.  Amongst  them  we  count  the  po- 
lice detachment  on  duty  at  the  building. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  interrupt  you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  you  are 
stating  that  this  is  the  most  significant  terrorist  episode  in  the  his- 
tory of  Argentina? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  And  the  most  significant  attack  on  a  Jewish  com- 
munity anywhere  in  the  world  since  the  Holocaust  of  the  Second 
World  War? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes.  This  is  how  we  are  affected.  This  act 
of  violence  also  destroyed  AMIA's  traditional  seven-story  building 
and  the  many  documents  it  contained  bearing  testimony  to  more 
than  a  century  of  Jewish  life  in  Argentina.  It  also  seriously  dam- 
aged the  neighborhood. 

Initial  evaluations  indicate  that  a  van  carrying  a  directional 
charge  hit  the  front  of  the  concrete  and  brick  building.  As  it  col- 
lapsed, the  rest  of  the  structure  fell  with  it.  The  fact  that  the  foun- 
dations remained  in  place  proves  that  the  explosion  came  from  out- 
side the  building. 

The  exact  size  of  the  charge  is  difficult  to  determine.  Even  a  rel- 
atively small  one  would  have  caused  the  building  to  fall.  However, 
evaluation  of  collateral  damage  has  allowed  experts  to  determine 
that  no  less  than  660  pounds  of  explosives  were  used.  Damage  to 


adjacent  buildings  confirmed  this,  just  as  the  shrapnel  dispersal 
pattern  confirmed  use  of  a  car  bomb. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  again  stop  you  for  a  second,  Mr.  Ambas- 
sador. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  My  information  is  that  this  basically  can  be  charac- 
terized as  a  suicide  bombing  attack.  Is  that  the  conclusion  of  the 
Argentine  Government  at  this  stage? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  We  have  exactly  the  same  conclusion,  yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  These  were  the  second  such  bombing  at- 
tacks in  Argentine.  At  2:40  p.m.  on  March  17,  1992,  the  Israeli  Em- 
bassy in  Buenos  Aires  was  destroyed.  Although  one  was  directed 
against  the  mission  of  a  foreign  government  and  the  other  against 
an  Argentine  institution,  both  bombings  were  most  probably  in- 
spired by  political  motivations  originated  in  the  Middle  East. 

The  embassy  building  collapsed,  burying  diplomatic  personnel 
and  visitors  inside  the  premises  and  leaving,  at  final  count,  28 
dead  and  252  injured. 

A  car  bomb  with  an  estimated  1,320  pounds  of  explosives  was 
used.  The  pickup  truck's  wreckage  was  crucial  in  contributing  to 
the  early  stages  of  the  investigation. 

From  Lebanon,  the  Hizballah  terrorist  organization  claimed  re- 
sponsibility for  this  bombing,  offering  as  proof  of  its  involvement  an 
intelligence  video  it  had  made  of  the  embassy  prior  to  the  attack. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  stop  you  again. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  This  bombing  which  occurred  over  2  years  ago 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos  [continuing].  Was  a  terrorist  attack  for  which  the 
Hizballah  terrorist  organization  claimed  responsibility.  Is  it  the 
conclusion  of  the  Government  of  Argentina  that,  in  fact,  Hizballah 
committed  that  terrorist  attack? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes.  We  believe  that  this  organization 
claimed  responsibility.  They  are  doing  this,  and  are  claiming  re- 
sponsibility. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Ambassador. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  International  cooperation  was  immediately 
established  for  the  investigation  of  the  embassy  bombing.  The 
United  States  and  Israel  were  particularly  active  in  this  respect. 
Nevertheless,  our  joint  investigative  efforts  have  yet  to  produce 
final  results.  Actually,  international  experience  shows  that  finding 
those  responsible  for  terrorist  actions  is  not  a  quick  or  easy  matter. 

For  example,  the  December  1988  Pan  Am  flight  103  tragedy  over 
Lockerbie  was  only  resolved  toward  the  end  of  1991.  A  similar  pe- 
riod was  required  in  the  case  of  the  French  UTA  DC-10  bombing 
of  1989  which  was  not  attributed  to  Libyans  until  1991.  Terrorist 
attempts  in  France  during  1985  and  1986  were  finally  found  in 
1990  to  be  the  responsibility  of  Shi'ite  fundamentalists.  In  other 
cases,  it  proved  impossible  to  identify  those  responsible  for  terrorist 
acts  despite  intense  investigative  efforts. 

Despite  the  delays,  our  resolve  to  investigate  these  criminal  acts 
and  discover  those  responsible  for  them  will  not  diminish. 


The  AMIA  building  had  been  a  point  of  reference  for  generations 
of  Argentines  who  valued  the  role  played  by  Jews  in  our  history 
and  in  forming  our  way  of  life. 

The  Jewish  community  is  an  integral  part  of  our  nation  of  immi- 
grants, where  people  of  different  origins  share  similar  values  and 
common  goals.  Thus,  the  AMIA  bombing  aroused  deep  feelings  of 
sorrow  and  anger  in  Argentina.  Indignation  mounted  as  media  re- 
ports brought  home  its  magnitude. 

My  government  immediately  and  strongly  condemned  this  crimi- 
nal act  and  considered  it  an  affront  to  the  nation,  the  Jewish  com- 
munity, and  civilized  society  as  a  whole.  Three  national  days  of 
mourning  were  followed  by  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Congress  to 
which  all  political  parties,  several  national  institutions,  and  Jewish 
organizations  were  invited. 

Congressional  committees  in  Argentina  are  holding  hearings  to 
achieve  insight  on  the  matter.  Last  week,  the  Foreign  Minister  ex- 
plained the  situation  from  the  foreign  policy  point  of  view.  The 
Minister  of  Interior  is  expected  to  appear  before  them  in  the  next 
few  days. 

At  a  more  popular  level,  I  can  think  of  no  better  expression  of 
public  sentiment  toward  the  bombing  than  the  150,000  people  who 
gathered  in  the  street  of  Buenos  Aires  in  a  mass  demonstration  to 
condemn  the  attack. 

My  government  has  reacted  vigorously  in  pursuit  of  those  re- 
sponsible and  in  relief  of  the  victims  and  their  families.  Borders 
were  ordered  closed  by  the  President  on  the  day  of  the  bombing. 
Reinforced  immigration  controls  allowed  certain  individuals  to  be 
detained.  Since  the  attack,  routine  police  protection  to  Jewish 
schools,  synagogues,  and  other  institutions  has  been  significantly 
increased. 

Federal  Judge  Juan  Jose  Galeano  is  in  charge  of  the  criminal  in- 
vestigation and  has  been  working  with  the  administration  and  se- 
curity forces  to  capture  those  responsible.  In  the  context  of  his  in- 
vestigation. Judge  Galeano  traveled  to  Venezuela  to  receive  state- 
ments from  the  Iranian  citizen  who  was  said  to  possess  informa- 
tion. 

In  the  diplomatic  field,  and  in  order  to  receive  firsthand  reports, 
our  Ambassadors  in  Beirut  and  Tehran  have  been  called  to  Buenos 
Aires.  We  have  also  requested  information  from  the  Lebanese  and 
the  Iranian  Governments  regarding  Hizballah  sponsored  organiza- 
tions that  can  be  found  in  those  countries.  More  specifically,  the 
Iranian  Ambassador  in  Argentina  has  been  called  several  times  in 
the  last  few  days  to  meet  with  foreign  ministry  officials. 

A  special  committee  has  also  been  established,  linking  the  police 
with  Jewish  institutions  in  order  to  maintain  permanent  contact 
with  them  and  with  the  neighborhood  damaged  by  the  bomb. 

Government  officials  have  made  themselves  available  to  Israeli 
envoys  and  Argentine  and  foreign  Jewish  organizations,  whose  rep- 
resentatives went  to  Buenos  Aires  to  offer  support  and  gather  in- 
formation. Meetings  with  the  President  and  members  of  his  cabinet 
took  place  in  this  context. 

During  their  meetings.  President  Menem  recalled  his  statements 
on  the  attack,  the  openness  and  solidarity  of  the  Argentine  people 
and  his  own  determination  to  identify  and  punish  those  respon- 


sible.  He  also  announced  that  financial  assistance  will  be  extended 
to  the  families  of  the  victims  and  that  a  request  for  aid  in  rebuild- 
ing the  AMIA/DAIA  headquarters  would  receive  favorable  consider- 
ation. Here  in  the  United  States,  my  embassy  and  all  our  con- 
sulates have  been  in  constant  contact  with  the  many  individuals 
and  American  Jewish  organizations  that  came  forward  at  this  mo- 
ment. 

Notwithstanding  the  generalized  conviction  that  the  motives  and 
inspiration  for  the  bombing  are  related  to  the  Middle  East,  reputed 
existence  of  anti-Semitism  in  Argentina  has  been  mentioned  in  its 
regard.  If  anything,  the  bombing  has  inspired  Argentina  to  close 
ranks  once  again  with  its  Jewish  community. 

In  fact,  a  survey  conducted  by  the  American  Jewish  Committee 
and  the  Delegation  of  Argentine  Israeli  Associations  shows  a  con- 
siderable tendency  toward  ethnic,  religious,  and  cultural  pluralism 
in  Argentine  society.  It  also  indicates  that  on  the  whole,  there  is 
a  positive  orientation  toward  Jews  and  significant  tolerance  in  ac- 
cepting the  various  ethnic  and  religious  groups  that  make  up  the 
country. 

It  demonstrates  further  that  markedly  discriminatory  attitudes 
toward  Jews  and  others  are  not  found  in  the  areas  of  social  and 
familial  interaction.  It  also  shows  that  69  percent  of  Argentines 
polled  preferred  to  live  in  a  multiracial,  culturally  diverse,  and  reli- 
giously free  society. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Mr.  Ambassador,  although  these  are  encouraging 
statements,  you  would  nevertheless  agree,  would  you  not,  that 
there  are  two  particular  elements  within  Argentina  that  may  have 
led  to  the  selection  of  Argentina  as  the  second  such  major  inter- 
national terrorist  attack  in  the  hemisphere. 

The  first  one  is  the  presence  of  a  very  significant  pro-Nazi  ele- 
ment or  descendants  of  the  pro-Nazi  element  that  have  been  given 
safe  haven  in  Argentina  following  the  Second  World  War.  And,  the 
second  is  the  presence  of  a  very  large  radical  Shi'ite  population  liv- 
ing within  Argentina. 

International  terrorists,  to  a  very  large  extent,  have  to  depend  on 
an  internal  supportive  infrastructure;  and  in  the  case  of  Argentina, 
unfortunately  both  of  these  elements,  extreme  right-wing  former 
Nazi  groups  as  well  as  radical  Shi'ite  groups,  are  present  which 
makes  an  international  terrorist  attack  all  the  more  easy  because 
there  is  an  internal  domestic  infrastructure. 

Would  you  agree  with  that? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  No,  I  don't  agree  with  you.  We  don't  have 
the  same  viewpoint.  We  believe  that  there  is  minuscule  groups  of 
people  who  follow  these  Nazi  feelings  and  these  Nazi  politics. 

Mr.  Lantos.  It  is  a  small  group? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes,  and  I  believe  this  group  in  Argentina 
is  smaller  than  the  group  that  exists  in  any  country,  also  in  your 
country,  and  I  believe  we  don't  have  Shi'ite  meeting  in  Argentina. 
Maybe  it  would  be  an  undercore,  but  again,  they  are  really  a  min- 
uscule group  and  we  don't  believe  that  it  is  a  clear  and  fair  charac- 
terization to  say  that  this  group  has  influenced  us  in  Argentina. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Please. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  To  those  who  suggested  that  an  appro- 
priate response  to  terrorism  can  be  found  in  setting  aside  the  law. 


8 

I  must  answer  emphatically  that  our  recent  history  has  shown  us 
in  an  unfortunate  way  that  violence  only  generates  more  violence. 

The  establishment  of  democracy  in  Argentina  over  a  decade  ago 
also  brought  about  the  replacement  of  a  repressive  security  appara- 
tus by  an  intelligence  community  imbued  with  the  concept  of  the 
rule  of  law.  Countries  such  as  mine,  which  enjoy  democratic  insti- 
tutions and  governments  concerned  with  the  well-being  of  their 
people  will  continue  to  respect  legal  procedures  in  their  persecution 
of  violent  terrorist  acts. 

My  government  is  committed  to  securing  its  people's  desire  to 
preserve  freedom,  tolerance,  and  democracy.  At  the  same  time,  it 
will  not  rest  until  those  responsible  for  the  bombings  are  brought 
to  justice. 

The  day  following  the  attack  in  Argentina,  a  plane  carrying  nu- 
merous Jewish  passengers  blew  up  in  flight  over  Panama.  A  few 
days  later,  bombs  destroyed  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  London  and 
were  set  off  in  front  of  a  building  housing  British  Jewish  institu- 
tions. 

During  his  recent  visit  to  Washington,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Is- 
rael, Yitzhak  Rabin,  said  in  a  White  House  news  conference  that 
it  was  reasonable  to  assume  that  terrorist  bombings  of  Jewish  tar- 
gets in  Buenos  Aires  and  London  were  the  work  of  Muslim  extrem- 
ists. In  another  interview  he  added  the  Islamic  terrorist  move- 
ments are  determined  to  undermine  the  Arab-Israeli  peace  process. 
He  added  that  the  world  was  facing  a  wave  of  extreme  Islamic  rad- 
ical terrorist  movements  with  infrastructure  all  over  the  world. 

King  Hussein  of  Jordan  also  denounced  the  people  behind  these 
attacks,  calling  them  enemies  of  hope,  enemies  of  what  should  be 
normal  among  people. 

A  member  of  the  Israeli  Parliament  considered  that  the  attack 
against  AMIA/DAIA  was  apparently  a  retaliation  for  Israel's  bomb- 
ing of  a  Hizballah  training  base  last  June  2  and  its  kidnapping  of 
a  Shi'ite  Muslim  leader  in  Lebanon  on  May  21. 

Both  Mr.  Rabin  and  Mr.  Arafat  have  separately  mentioned  that 
the  Lebanese  Hizballah  is  behind  the  AMIA/DAIA  bombing. 

My  country's  renewed  participation  in  multilateral  efforts  to  re- 
spond to  situations  that  threaten  international  peace  and  security 
has  been  perceived  as  exposing  it  to  a  higher  level  of  terrorist  ag- 
gression. However,  our  foreign  policy  will  not  be  altered.  Argentina 
will  continue  to  be  positively  involved  in  world  affairs  and  United 
Nations'  peacekeeping  operations. 

My  government  considers  that  the  world  is  now  encountering  a 
new  dimension  of  terrorism  with  increased  levels  of  sophistication, 
and  that  our  ability  to  anticipate  its  attacks  must  be  enhanced. 

In  order  to  better  deal  with  the  international  dimension  of  terror- 
ism, Argentine  intelligence  agencies  have  increased  cooperation 
with  those  of  other  friendly  nations. 

Mr.  Lantos.  May  I  stop  you  there  for  a  minute,  Mr.  Ambas- 
sador? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Have  you  received  full  cooperation  from  the  appro- 
priate agencies  and  authorities  of  the  U.S.  Government  in  pursuing 
this  matter? 


Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes.  We  received  and  we  are  receiving  a 
very  broad  and  very  kind  cooperation,  and  also  they  agree  with  the 
perception  we  are  using  in  this  speech  or  this  remark. 

Mr.  Lantos.  How  about  the  degree  of  cooperation  between  the 
appropriate  Argentinian  authorities  and  the  parallel  authorities  of 
the  Government  of  Israel? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  I  cannot  say  exactly  the  same.  We  are  re- 
ceiving a  very  broad  and  very  kindly  cooperation. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Let  me  take  a  moment  to  recall  that  in 
1983,  the  U.S.  Congress  authorized  the  Anti-Terrorism  Assistance 
Program,  a  major  initiative  to  fight  international  terrorism.  Amer- 
ican assistance  has  since  been  extended  to  Argentina  for  the  train- 
ing of  government  law  enforcement  officers. 

Immediately  after  the  bombing,  we  received  further  offers  of  co- 
operation from  the  U.S.  Government,  which  I  was  instructed  to  ac- 
cept. Technical  details  of  this  offer  have  been  worked  out  directly 
between  the  Argentine  and  American  agencies  involved. 

Additionally,  24  hours  after  the  explosion,  a  specialized  Israeli 
rescue  team  arrived  in  Buenos  Aires  to  help  in  the  search  for  survi- 
vors. Further  cooperation  between  the  intelligence  agencies  of  Ar- 
gentine, Israel,  the  United  States,  and  other  nations  was  also 
quickly  established.  Thus,  results  from  the  investigation  will  also 
come  from  an  international  effort  that  is  contributing  to  build  the 
Argentina  prosecutor's  case. 

After  the  bombing,  many  nations  came  forward  with  a  statement 
rejecting  the  cruel  attack  against  the  AMIA/DAIA  building. 

President  Clinton  was  among  the  first  to  react.  He  called  it  cow- 
ardly and  said  that  this  terrible  loss  of  innocent  lives  must  not 
deter  civilized  society  from  opposing  the  enemies  of  peace. 

Responding  to  an  Argentine  request  for  an  extraordinary  meet- 
ing, the  Permanent  Council  of  the  Organization  of  American  States 
issued  a  declaration  on  July  19  stating  its  strongest  condemnation 
of  this  attack  on  the  Jewish  community  in  Argentina  which  is  also 
an  affront  to  the  entire"  nation  and  the  consciences  of  the  people  of 
the  Americas. 

Argentina  also  requested  and  obtained  a  meeting  of  the  U.N.  Se- 
curity Council  in  order  to  report  on  the  situation.  Last  Friday,  July 
29,  our  Foreign  Minister  went  to  the  U.N.  to  describe  the  attack 
and  make  a  specific  proposal  regarding  the  scope  of  diplomatic  im- 
munity and  the  need  for  U.N.  Security  Council  consideration  of 
concrete  measures  to  counter  international  terrorism. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  stop  you  here  concerning  your  observation 
about  diplomatic  immunity;  are  you  suggesting,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested by  others,  that  Iranian  diplomatic  establishments  abroad 
are  used  as  terrorist  bases? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  We  don't  have  a  definite  proof  of  this  in- 
volvement, but  we  have  a  lot  of  clues  that  connected  us  to  this  con- 
clusion, but  we  are  not  going  to  take  any  kind  of  position  if  we 
don't  have  the  necessary  proof 

Mr.  Lantos.  So  what  you  are  suggesting  is  that  you  have  a  lot 
of  information 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Yes. 


10 

Mr.  Lantos  [continuing].  Of  Iranian  diplomatic  officials  being  in- 
volved, but  you  are  not  yet  at  a  stage  where  you  are  ready  to  take 
action? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  You  are  very  clear  in  my  idea,  yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Ambassador. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  He  also  stated  that  although  we  presume 
that  it  received  support  from  marginal  groups  within  Argentina, 
the  origin  of  and  responsibility  for  the  bombing  is  to  be  found  be- 
yond Argentina's  borders. 

With  regards  to  the  Israeli  Embassy  bombing  in  1992,  the  For- 
eign Minister  recalled  that  on  May  28,  the  spiritual  leader  of 
Hizballah  declared  that  Muslim  fighters  have  reached  Argentina 
and  that,  therefore,  we  cannot  exclude  that  this  organization  is  also 
behind  the  AMIA/DAIA  bombing. 

Finally,  he  added  that  although  we  all  know  who  they  are,  we 
cannot  yet  officially  affirm  that  other  countries  are  behind  the 
bombing. 

The  presentation  of  the  Argentine  Foreign  Minister  to  the  U.N. 
Security  Council  was  based  on  the  General  Assembly's  Resolution 
44/122  of  December  12,  1993,  which  condemns  terrorism  and  its 
methods  and  urges  the  international  community  to  cooperate  in  the 
struggle  against  the  threat  of  national,  regional,  and  international 
terrorism. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  and  also  at  Argentina's  re- 
quest, a  second  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  OAS  Permanent 
Council  heard  a  further  statement  by  the  Argentine  Foreign  Min- 
ister. In  it,  he  urged  the  OAS  and  its  members  to  undertake  con- 
certed actions  against  terrorism. 

After  debating,  the  Permanent  Council  of  the  OAS  issued  a  dec- 
laration expressing  its  appreciation  for  additional  information  pro- 
vided by  the  Foreign  Minister  on  the  bombing  and  on  investigative 
efforts  to  clarify  this  atrocity.  At  the  same  time,  the  Permanent 
Council  reiterated  its  declaration  of  July  19. 

Mr.  Chairman,  today  we  are  waging  a  war  against  irrational  vio- 
lence. This  struggle  is  not  between  Argentina  and  some  terrorist 
group,  but  between  the  international  community  and  worldwide 
terrorism,  between  those  who  love  peace  and  those  who  pursue 
spurious  objectives  without  regard  to  the  cost  in  human  lives.  We 
must  come  together  to  fight  this  common  enemy. 

Therefore,  I  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  to  call  upon  your  sub- 
committees to  continue  their  work  in  this  regard.  I  would  also  like 
to  suggest  that  the  U.S.  Congress  extend  its  support  to  initiatives 
directed  toward  the  enhancement  of  international  cooperation  in 
the  struggle  against  terrorism. 

Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Ambassador. 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Ambassador  Ocampo  appears  in  the 
appendix.] 

Mr.  Lantos.  With  respect  to  your  last  point,  let  me  just  express 
my  strong  agreement  with  it.  It  is  in  the  spirit  of  implementing 
your  last  observation  that  the  Republican  whip,  Mr.  Gingrich  and 
I  are  moving  on  our  resolution  urging  on  the  President  to  convene 
at  the  summit  level  an  action-oriented  conference  on  international 
terrorism. 


11 

Before  thanking  you  and  your  associates,  I  wonder  if  my  distin- 
guished colleague  from  Kansas  has  anv  observations  to  make. 

Mrs.  Meyers.  Mr.  Chairman,  just  briefly,  I  would  like  to  agree 
with  the  Ambassador  in  his  statement.  We  are  all  appalled  and 
deeply  concerned  about  the  activities  in  your  country,  and  I  joined 
with  the  chairman  last  year  in  a  resolution  of  condemnation  and 
will  do  so  again  this  year,  and  I  was  pleased  to  hear  your  state- 
ment that  our  Government  has  done  everything  that  we  can  to  as- 
sist, and  I  am  sure  that  we  will  continue  in  that  regard. 

I  do  have  one  question,  if  I  may,  Mr.  Chairman.  When  you  stated 
in  vour  statement  that  you  knew  who  the  people  were,  but  that  you 
didn't  have  sufficient  proof  yet  to  move,  does  this  mean  not  only 
those  who  came  from  out  of  country,  but  those  within  country,  you 
know  who  they  are,  but  you  don't  have  proof? 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  We  were  talking  about  the  philosophy  of 
the  people  who  are  behind  this  kind  of  attack.  We  are  not  talking 
about  the  material,  the  personnel  who  were  conducting  the  attack. 

Mrs.  Meyers.  I  see. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Mr.  Ambassador,  I  want  to  thank  both  you,  your 
two  distinguished  associates,  the  Under  Secretary  for  Foreign  Pol- 
icy and  the  Director  of  North  American  Affairs  for  appearing  before 
us. 

We  want  to  ask  you  to  convey  to  the  Foreign  Minister  and  to  the 
President  our  appreciation  and  our  determination  to  continue  to 
work  with  Argentina  in  solving  this  despicable  terrorist  attack  and 
in  strengthening  the  network  of  antiterrorist  capabilities  of  our  re- 
spective governments.  We  appreciate  your  presence. 

Ambassador  Ocampo.  Thank  you. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much,  gentlemen. 

Our  next  witnesses  are  Steve  Emerson,  internationally  recog- 
nized authority  on  terrorism  and  radical  fundamentalism,  and  Mr. 
Ruben  Beraja,  president,  the  Argentina  Jewish  Community.  We  are 
happy  to  have  the  two  of  you  gentlemen  at  the  table. 

Mr.  Emerson,  we  will  begin  with  you.  You  have  remarkable  cre- 
dentials and  experience  in  the  global  struggle  against  international 
terrorism.  We  appreciate  your  appearance.  Your  prepared  state- 
ment will  be  entered  in  the  record  in  its  entirety.  You  may  proceed 
any  way  you  choose. 

STATEMENT  OF  STEVEN  EMERSON,  SPECIALIST  ON  INTER- 
NATIONAL TERRORISM  AND  RADICAL  FUNDAMENTALISM 
AND  AUTHOR 

Mr.  Emerson.  Good  morning.  I  shall  offer  an  abbreviated  version 
of  the  statement  right  now,  and  the  record  will  reflect  the  full 
statement. 

I  think  it  is  quite  appropriate  and  commendable  that  you  are 
holding  this  hearing  this  morning  regarding  the  bombings  in  the 
last  2  weeks.  The  American  public  needs  to  understand  that  al- 
though the  bombings  took  place  thousands  of  miles  away  and  the 
victims  were  foreigners,  the  next  time  we  could  be  the  target.  Al- 
though the  media  has  devoted  far  less  attention  to  this  carnage 
than  it  did  to  similar  acts  of  religious  fanatical  acts  of  violence  ear- 
lier this  year  in  the  Middle  East,  the  attacks  in  Argentina  and  Lon- 
don were  no  less  horrific. 


12 

I  believe  the  American  public  and  the  American  policymakers 
must  begin  to  understand  the  depth  of  the  new  problem  facing  the 
world.  As  you  noted  in  your  own  opening  statement,  the  bombings 
were  not  simply  an  attempt  by  the  enemies  of  peace  to  derail  the 
peace  process,  as  several  senior  U.S.  officials  said  last  week,  nor 
were  they  simply  the  return,  "of  Middle  Eastern  terrorism  to  Lon- 
don," as  a  senior  British  law  enforcement  official  said.  Rather,  the 
bombings  are  part  of  an  escalating  worldwide  battle  between  radi- 
cal Islamic  militants  and  the  West.  The  perpetrators  of  these  bomb- 
ings are  not  motivated  by  what  we  know  as,  "legitimate  griev- 
ances". 

Radical  Islamic  militants  see  the  very  existence  of  pro-Western 
nations,  such  as  Israel  and  Egypt,  or  pluralistic  systems,  such  as 
democracy,  or  rival  religions,  such  as  Judaism  and  Christianity  or 
even  moderate  Muslims  as  a  mortal  threat  to  their  own  being. 
These  militants  see  the  continuation  of  1,000-year  conspiracy 
waged  by  the  infidel  to  subjugate  Islam.  In  this  perspective,  the 
West's  publication  of  Salman  Rushdie's  book  and  the  1991  Persian 
Gulf  war  are  only  extensions  of  the  crusader's  assault  on  Islam. 

The  terrorism  of  the  1970's,  largely  attributable  to  Palestinian 
organizations,  ultimately  dissipated  because  of  the  secular  nature 
of  the  PLO's  demands  and  its  willingness  to  compromise  on  its 
goals  to  destroy  Israel.  Today,  Yassar  Arafat  is  either  unwilling  or 
unable  to  stop  other  Palestinian  terrorists,  but  at  least  he  has  put 
an  end  to  most  Fatah  terrorism. 

Radical  Islamic  militants  are  not  susceptible  to  the  same  rational 
persuasion.  They  see  any  accord  that  accepts  the  legitimacy  of  a 
Jewish  state  or  the  existence  of  pro-American  regimes  in  Egypt  or 
Jordan  as  intrinsically  offensive.  To  these  groups,  there  can  be  no 
compromise.  It  is  a  duel  to  the  death  with  the  infidels  and  the 
heretics. 

This  war  is  without  borders.  Unlike  the  peaceful  version  of 
Jihad,  these  militants  see  and  practice  Jihad  only  as  a  holy  war. 
Becoming  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  Jihad  is  just  as  good  as  killing 
in  the  cause  of  Jihad.  In  this  new  clash  between  militant  Islam  and 
its  enemies,  political  reconciliation  is  inherently  impossible. 

In  Europe,  Hizballah-Iran  assassination  squads  have  murdered 
scores  of  dissidents.  In  Thailand  earlier  this  year,  the  Israeli  Em- 
bassy narrowly  missed  being  blown  up.  In  Bangladesh,  a  female 
writer  has  recently  been  subject  to  a  death  threat,  the  equivalent 
of  what  was  issued  to  Salman  Rushdie. 

In  Canada,  various  terrorists  belonging  to  Hizballah  and  the 
black  Muslim  group  Al-Fuqra  have  been  convicted;  and  even  in 
Chicago  earlier  this  year,  several  Jewish  institutions  were  torched 
by  Palestinian  youths  who  apparently  were  part  of  a  larger  Hamas 
community. 

Despite  attempts  by  some  in  this  country  to  paper  over  the  dif- 
ferences between  radical  Islam  and  the  West,  the  fact  remains  that 
radical  Islamic  leaders  see  the  West  as  part  of  a  major  conspiracy 
to  wipe  out  Islam.  In  this  context,  Israel  is  the  Little  Satan  and 
the  United  States  is  the  Great  Satan. 

Attacks  on  targets  like  the  World  Trade  Center  last  year  or  in 
Buenos  Aires  2  weeks  ago  are  justified,  even  mandated  as  part  of 
the  holy  war  against  the  infidels.  For  those  perpetrating  such  at- 


13 

tacks,  they  may  indeed  be  motivated  by  distinct  events,  but  the 
larger  local  support  network  needed  to  carry  out  such  terrorism 
could  only  arise  because  of  the  widespread  acceptance  of  radical 
anti-Western  precepts. 

I  want  to  make  very  clear  that  at  the  outset,  it  is  important  to 
point  out  that  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  nearly  1  billion 
Muslims  in  the  world  today  do  not  support  such  concepts  of  Jihad 
or  violence. 

Those  that  support  violence  are  only  a  very  small  minority  and 
totally  unrepresentative  of  the  larger  Muslim  community,  and  as 
King  Hussein  of  Jordan  said  the  other  day  at  press  conference  at 
the  White  House,  the  bombings  in  Argentina  had  nothing  to  do 
with  Islam. 

In  a  theological  sense,  he  is  absolutely  right.  Terrorism  has  noth- 
ing to  do  witn  mainstream  Islam.  Islam  is  an  incredibly  rich  and 
peaceful  religion  that  has  given  the  world  a  wonderful  legacy.  But 
in  the  last  half  of  the  20th  centurv,  in  particular,  the  last  20  years, 
militancy  and  violence  has  everything  to  do  with  the  rise  of  radical 
Islamic  fundamentalism. 

It  would  be  the  height  of  recklessness  and  naivete  to  deny  that 
which  has  become  a  reality.  In  recent  years  radical  Islamic  move- 
ments, for  a  variety  of  reasons,  have  proliferated  not  just  through- 
out the  Middle  East,  but  globally. 

These  radical  extremists  have  been  able  to  set  up  a  vast  institu- 
tional network  of  supporters  throughout  the  world,  and  in  the 
United  States  as  well,  where  they  have  amassed  money  and  weap- 
ons, established  recruitment  centers,  and  have  even  established 
command  and  control  facilities. 

In  the  United  States,  for  example,  the  Gama'a  Islamiya, 
Hizballah,  Hamas,  and  Islamic  Jihad,  to  name  a  few,  have  estab- 
lished elaborate  support  systems.  The  same  goes,  in  varying  de- 
grees, for  Canada,  Germany,  France,  Great  Britain,  Argentina,  and 
elsewhere. 

According  to  Israeli  and  American  intelligence,  there  is  very  little 
doubt  that  Iran  was  the  major  party  behind  the  Argentinian  bomb- 
ing. In  the  past  week,  I  note,  Hizballah  and  Iran  have  gone  to  ex- 
traordinary lengths  to  publicly  deny  any  involvement,  but  these  de- 
nials are  the  very  hallmark  of  Iranian  Hizballah  tactics. 

Iran  and  Hizballah  have  publicly  denied  any  connection  to  the 
American  hostages  held  in  Lebanon,  to  the  bombing  of  the  Marine 
barracks  or  the  bombing  of  the  U.S.  Embassy  in  the  mid-1980's. 
Hizballah  is  very  tightly  compartmented.  It  is  organized  along  fam- 
ily tribal  or  village  lines.  This  ensures  that  foreign  infiltration  is 
impossible.  It  also  ensures  that  the  culpability  is  limited. 

During  the  1980's,  there  were  more  than  25  names  of  different 
groups  in  Lebanon  to  claim  credit  for  taking  American  hostages,  all 
were  found  to  be  part  of  the  umbrella  group  called  Hizballah.  By 
selecting  Buenos  Aires  twice  in  2  years,  this  also  ensured  that  ev- 
eryone would  know  that  Iran  and  Hizballah  were  behind  the  bomb- 
ing while  still  enabling  Iran  and  Hizballah  to  fiercely  deny  any  con- 
nection. 

Like  the  United  States,  Argentina  was  deemed  a  special  target 
of  recruitment  because  of  the  presence  of  so  many  Muslim  immi- 
grants. In  the  1980's,  Iran  intensified  its  worldwide  outreach  pro- 


14 

gram  and  began  providing  money  and  sending  Iranian  clerics  to 
foreign  Islamic  communities. 

The  significance  Buenos  Aires  was  accorded  by  Iran  was  indi- 
cated by  the  fact,  as  pointed  out  by  the  Islamic  scholar  Khalid 
Duran,  that  Iran  sent  Ayatollah  Rabbanni,  1  of  only  40  ayatollahs, 
to  serve  as  the  leader  of  a  Shiite  mosque  in  Buenos  Aires  in  the 
mid-1980's.  There  have  been  other  trips  by  Iranian  and  Afghan 
Jihad  leaders  to  Buenos  Aires,  as  there  have  been  to  the  United 
States. 

Iran  collaborates  with  other  radical  movements  such  as  the  Pal- 
estinian Islamic  Jihad  and  Hamas.  Last  week,  Secretary  of  State 
Warren  Christopher  told  this  body  that  Hizballah  and  Iran  must 
be  contained.  He  articulated  a  criticism  of  those  countries  that  con- 
tinue to  engage  in  commercial  trade  relations  with  Iran.  But  isolat- 
ing Iran  is  simply  not  enough. 

Hizballah  today  operates  under  the  full  protection  of  Syria.  In 
fact,  all  of  the  Hizballah  main  training  bases  are  located  in  the 
Bekaa  Valley  under  the  total  sovereignty  of  Syria.  Much  of 
Hizballah's  weaponry  are  sent  through  Damascus  by  air  and  then 
truck  convoys  through  Syrian  military  lines. 

Syria  uses  Hizballah  to  attack  Israeli  targets  in  the  South  as  an 
appendage  of  its  foreign  policy.  It  believes  such  attacks  place  pres- 
sure on  Israel  while  giving  Syria  plausible  deniability  that  it  is  in- 
volved in  terror.  This  charade  works  because  the  West  goes  along 
with  it. 

Ironically,  Lebanon  today  still  operates  with  total  complicity  of 
Syria  even  though  the  United  States  is  trying  to  entice  Syria  into 
the  peace  talks.  I  will  not  prescribe  this  morning  dilemmas  regard- 
ing U.S.  policy  options.  I  believe  there  is  a  dilemma,  but  I  also  be- 
lieve that  as  a  price  for  participation  in  the  peace  talks,  Syria 
should  be  asked  to  finally  close  down  its  support  for  international 
terror  groups. 

There  is  another  irony.  The  United  States  itself  today  is  a  place 
where  many  of  these  radical  groups  have  located  themselves.  Ac- 
cording to  law  enforcement  and  intelligence  officials,  most  Middle 
East  terror  organizations  and  radical  Islamic  groups  have  estab- 
lished an  extensive  presence  and  in  some  cases  their  actual  politi- 
cal headquarters  right  here  in  the  United  States. 

For  the  most  part,  these  groups  have  not  carried  out  terrorist  at- 
tacks on  American  soil  with  the  exception  last  year  of  the  attack 
on  the  World  Trade  Center.  However,  we  are  becoming  fast  beyond 
the  point  when  we  can  count  on  such  rational  self-calculations. 

Some  Western  security  officials  with  whom  I  have  recently  spo- 
ken believe  that  the  bombing  of  Jewish  and  Israeli  targets  in  Lon- 
don and  Buenos  Aires  can  be  contained  to  Jewish  and  Israeli  tar- 
gets. Not  only  is  such  a  distinction  invidious,  it  is  only  a  matter 
of  time  before  the  anti-Western  ideology  driving  these  attacks  esca- 
lates into  further  attacks  on  non-Middle  East  targets. 

The  notion  that  peace  in  the  Middle  East  will  assuage  radical  Is- 
lamic groups  or  that  some  form  of  Western  reconciliation  is  possible 
with  radical  groups  is  woefully  mistaken. 

Hizballah  and  Iran's  argument  with  Israel  is  not  over  specific  Is- 
raeli acts.  Contrary  to  a  point  raised  last  week  by  a  distinguished 
columnist  in  the  New  York  Times,  the  terrorist  causes  of  the  bomb- 


15 

ings  in  Argentina  and  England  cannot  be  rationally  solved  anymore 
than  the  death  threats  against  Salman  Rushdie  can  be  revolved  by 
appeasing  the  radical  fundamentalists  making  the  threat. 

These  bombings  should  finally  force  the  West  to  wake  up  to  the 
new  battle  front  that  it  is  facing — an  era  of  unalterable,  violent, 
anti-Western,  anti-Jewish,  anti-Christian,  and  antimoderate  Mus- 
lim rage.  Coupled  with  the  bombing  of  the  World  Trade  Center  last 
year,  these  bombings  show  that  radical  Islamic  militants  have  now 
taken  their  battle  from  their  homelands  into  the  heart  of  enemy 
territory,  the  West. 

In  short,  it  will  require  concerted  action  by  all  countries  to  co- 
ordinate their  intelligence  systems,  asylum,  security  procedures 
and  immigration  policies  to  protect  civilians  from  increasingly  be- 
coming the  new  front  line  in  the  unfolding  wave  of  terrorism. 

Thank  you. 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Mr.  Emerson  appears  in  the  appen- 
dix.] 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Emerson. 

We  will  have  a  number  of  questions  as  soon  as  we  hear  from  our 
other  distinguished  witness. 

Before  calling  on  you,  Mr.  Beraja,  on  behalf  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  I  want  to  express  our  profound  condolences  and 
sympathies  and  anguish  at  the  tragedy  that  your  community  suf- 
fered in  Argentina.  We  are  very  pleased  to  have  you. 

We  are  grateful  to  you  that  in  the  midst  of  what  is  an  extremely 
difficult  and  trying  time  you  decided  to  accept  our  invitation  and 
fly  up  from  Buenos  Aires. 

You  may  proceed  any  way  you  choose. 

STATEMENT  OF  RUBEN  BERAJA,  PRESmENT,  DELEGATION  OF 
ARGENTINE  JEWISH  ASSOCIATIONS  (DAIA) 

Mr.  Beraja.  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Chairman.  We  know  the 
feeling  of  the  American  people  about  this  subject. 

I  thank  you  at  first  for  the  concerns  of  the  subcommittee  under 
your  leadership  to  consider  in  this  hearing  the  criminal  terrorist 
attack  that  took  place  in  my  country  on  July  18,  1994. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  very  good  relationship  that  exists 
between  Argentina  and  the  United  States,  the  international  reper- 
cussions of  the  terrorist  threat,  the  traditional  solidarity  of  your 
country  with  the  Jewish  people,  and  the  influence  that  the  United 
States  has  in  the  world,  I  decided  to  accept  your  invitation  so  that 
through  this  significant  body,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
may  commit  its  strong  action  to  face  such  a  threat. 

I  come  as  an  Argentinean  committed  to  democracy  and  human 
rights  with  the  idea  of  peace  and  harmony  without  prejudice  or  dis- 
crimination. As  such  and  as  a  Jew,  I  preside  over  DAIA,  the  rep- 
resentative organization  of  the  Argentinean  Jewish  institutions, 
and  an  affiliate  of  the  World  Jewish  Congress. 

But  I  am  convinced  that  I  don't  speak  only  for  myself  nor  only 
for  the  organization  I  represent,  but  on  behalf  of  millions  of  fellow 
Argentinians  of  various  beliefs  and  ideologies  who  share  the  con- 
demnation of  terror  who  are  committed  with  life,  freedom  and  the 
rule  of  law. 


16 

Please  see  me  also  as  another  survivor  of  the  attack — and  this 
should  be  taken  literally — because  our  DAIA  offices  were  located  in 
the  same  AMIA  building  that  was  totally  destroyed. 

Before  addressing  in  depth  our  issue,  I  wish  to  pay  heartfelt  trib- 
ute to  the  memory  of  the  martyrs  of  July  18,  to  offer  a  prayer  for 
the  recovery  of  the  wounded  and  comfort  to  the  bereaved  families. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  stop  you  for  a  moment.  I  understand  that 
there  are  still  a  number  of  individuals  whose  bodies  have  not  yet 
been  recovered  and  unfortunately  it  is  a  realistic  assumption  that 
they  have  also  perished. 

Mr.  Beraja.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Adding  the  number  of  confirmed  dead  to  the  num- 
ber who  are  missing  and,  under  this  set  of  circumstances,  pre- 
sumed dead,  how  many  individuals  will  have  died  in  this  terrorist 
attack? 

Mr.  Beraja.  104. 

Mr.  Lantos.  104. 

How  many  of  those  are  children? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Seven  are  children. 

Mr.  Lantos.  What  are  the  ages  approximately  of  the  seven  chil- 
dren? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Six,  8,  and  12;  also  some  young  people,  teenagers 
also. 

Mr.  Lantos.  So  a  6-year-old  is  the  youngest  victim? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos.  And  how  many  women  in  the  group? 

Mr.  Beraja.  I  don't  have  exactly  the  numbers  at  this  time,  but 
there  are  a  lot  of  women,  a  lot  of  young  women,  mothers  and  many, 
many  also,  all  the  women — and  the  family  also  were  in  this  attack. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you. 

Please  go  ahead. 

Mr.  Beraja.  At  the  same  time,  I  wish  to  point  out  before  the 
world  that  millions  of  Argentinians,  charitable  institutions,  dig- 
nitaries of  the  various  religious  beliefs,  political  parties,  labor 
unions,  professional  associations,  the  Armed  Forces,  artists,  intel- 
lectuals, students  and  all  governmental  powers,  led  by  President 
Menem,  shared  the  anguish  and  pain  in  a  public  rally  that  con- 
stituted and  example  of  brotherhood  and  solidarity  that  honor  the 
Argentinean  people. 

Similarly,  I  wish  to  point  out  the  devoted  effort  of  the  security 
forces,  of  the  rescuers  and  medical  personnel,  as  well  as  the  thou- 
sands of  anonymous  volunteers  that  worked  without  dismay  in  the 
midst  of  so  much  destruction. 

The  sounds  of  the  murderous  explosions  have  ceased,  but  not  its 
sequels. 

Among  them,  I  wish  to  underscore  the  fear  generated  in  vast  sec- 
tors of  the  population  based  on  their  inability  to  understand  how 
and  why  a  community  center  can  be  attacked  with  such  cruelty,  a 
center  dedicated  to  the  common  good,  to  religious  services  to  social 
welfare  and  education,  to  promote  culture  and  develop  activities  for 
young  people. 

That  is  the  mission  of  the  AMIA,  which  has  just  celebrated  100 
years  of  service,  being  one  of  the  most  important  organizations  of 


17 

its  kinds  in  the  Jewish  world  and  certainly  the  largest  in  Latin 
America. 

Fear,  the  legitimate  reaction  of  people  who  face  a  brutal  and  ap- 
parently uncontrollable  threat,  generates  such  undesirable  and 
painful  effects  as  seeing  the  victims  of  terrorism  as  potential  threat 
to  them,  as  if  the  victims  were  the  criminals  and  generating  at- 
tempts of  segregation  that  would  severely  affect  the  principle  of 
pluralism. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Let  me  be  sure  I  understand. 

What  you  are  saying  is  that  following  this  outrageous  and  hei- 
nous terrorist  attack,  there  are  some  who  want  to  separate  them- 
selves from  the  targets  of  the  attack,  thereby  presumably  protect- 
ing themselves  so  they  will  not  be  in  the  vicinity  of  these  people? 

Mr.  Beraja.  That  is  correct. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you. 

Mr.  Beraja.  Although  it  hurts  to  admit  it,  it  is  true  that  for  cir- 
cles, today  Argentinean  Jews  are  considered  a  potential  source  of 
danger  and  therefore  there  is  an  attempt  to  create  a  separation  be- 
tween Jews  and  non-Jews  in  a  reappearance  of  attitudes  that  we 
believed  had  been  definitively  eradicated  from  Argentinian  society. 

This  constitutes  a  significant  challenge  for  our  society  and  espe- 
cially for  the  government  so  as  not  to  allow  that  the  long  struggle 
to  eliminate  all  forms  of  discrimination  and  particularly  anti-Semi- 
tism be  frustrated. 

In  a  climate  of  tension  and  confusion,  we  have  witnessed  expres- 
sions inspired  in  the  anti-Semitic  prejudice,  including  its  modern 
version,  anti-Zionism,  and  coming  in  times  of  such  sorrow  for  the 
Jewish  community.  We  don't  minimize  the  potential  threats  and 
don't  take  it  lightly. 

President  Carlos  Menem  has  shared  our  concern  and  reiterated 
his  commitment  to  neutralize  those  alarm  signals.  The  next  few 
weeks  will  allow  us  to  evaluate  with  greater  clarity  the  develop- 
ment of  this  serious  issue  and  we  will  be  able  to  draw  more  definite 
conclusions. 

Mr.  Lantos.  So  I  am  clear  exactly  in  what  you  are  saying  is, 
some  elements  of  Argentine  society  you  are  suggesting  are  moving 
toward  a  reghettoization  of  the  Jewish  communities  because  they 
feel  that  if  the  Jewish  community  lives  in  an  unsegregated  manner 
in  Argentine  society  as  a  whole,  the  whole  of  society  will  be  in  dan- 
ger of  similar  terrorist  attacks  in  the  future? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Yes. 

It  is  our  hope  that  a  downward  trend  that  was  taking  place  in 
our  country  vis-a-vis  anti-Semitism,  that  allowed  me  to  report  to 
this  same  subcommittee  in  early  February  of  this  year,  on  a  posi- 
tive tone  may  be  ratified  without  any  doubt  in  the  near  future. 

We  trust  that  several  measures  the  Argentinean  Government  is 
adopting,  such  as  the  struggle  against  discrimination  and  anti- 
Semitism,  the  active  repudiation  of  the  presence  of  Nazi  war  crimi- 
nals in  our  country,  and  the  initiatives  that  it  has  proposed  nation- 
ally and  internationally  regarding  the  fight  against  terrorism,  will 
contribute  toward  this  goal. 

The  savage  attack  against  the  headquarters  of  AMIA  and  DAIA 
is  undergoing  a  thorough  investigation,  both  by  the  courts  as  well 
as  the  security  and  intelligence  agencies,  and  public  opinion  is  anx- 


18 

iously  waiting  for  the  identification  and  apprehension  of  those  re- 
sponsible, directly  and  ideologically,  both  coming  from  outside  the 
country  as  well  as  from  within  it. 

Mr.  Lantos.  If  I  may  stop  you  again,  the  attack  against  the  Is- 
raeli Embassy  2V2  years  ago  has  not  yet  been  solved;  is  that  cor- 
rect? 

Mr.  Beraja.  That  is  so. 

Mr.  Lantos.  There  is  not  a  single  individual  who  has  been 
brought  to  justice  as  a  result  of  that  dastardly  attack? 

Mr.  Beraja.  That  is  true. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Do  you  think  there  is  any  merit  to  the  speculation 
that  one  reason  Argentina  was  selected  as  a  site  of  this  latest  ter- 
rorist attack  is  because  there  was  a  failure  to  bring  to  justice  the 
perpetrators  of  the  earlier  attack? 

Mr.  Beraja.  I  agree.  I  said  this  in  a  public  speech  and  I  said  why 
Argentina  can't  solve  this  problem,  the  attack  of  the  embassy — we 
are  the  target,  a  new  target  for  the  terrorists. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Please. 

Mr.  Beraja.  It  is  necessary  to  indicate  now  as  I  am  speaking 
now  about  this — it  is  necessary  to  indicate  that  to  the  commotion 
caused  by  this  terrorist  attack  on  the  AMIA,  was  added  the  frustra- 
tion for  the  lack  of  concrete  results  of  the  investigation  regarding 
the  attack  suffered  by  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Buenos  Aires  in  1992. 
Such  a  circumstance  has  special  relevance  today  because  it  is  a 
negative  precedent  regarding  the  ability  of  the  State  to  punish 
international  terrorism. 

I  wish  to 

Mr.  Lantos.  Let  me  just  say  that  in  this  very  room  last  Thurs- 
day, we  held  a  hearing  on  the  Pan  Am  103  bombing  which  took 
place  almost  6  years  ago.  Where  you  are  seated,  we  had  six 
women — mothers,  and  wives  of  victims  of  the  Pan  Am  103  terrorist 
attack — and  they  cried  out  in  anguish  about  our  own  government's 
failure  to  take  any  concrete  steps  thus  far  to  bring  the  perpetrators 
to  justice. 

The  two  identified  perpetrators  of  that  terrorist  attack  are  still 
in  Libya  and  the  civilized  world  is  standing  by  as  Libya  defies  the 
civilized  world's  demand  to  extradite  them  for  a  court  trial. 

Argentina  is  not  alone  in  appearing  impotent  in  the  eyes  of  the 
international  community  in  dealing  with  international  terrorism 
and  when  the  State  Department's  representative  will  appear  in  a 
few  minutes,  I  will  raise  this  issue  again,  as  I  did  with  her  just  last 
Thursday. 

Please  go  ahead. 

Mr.  Beraja.  I  wish  to  underscore  that  it  is  a  violation  of  our  rule 
of  law  perpetrated  on  July  18  which  left  over  100  dead  and  more 
than  250  injured,  took  place  in  the  framework  of  a  democracy 
where  public  freedoms  and  human  rights  are  highly  respected,  not- 
withstanding certain  deficiencies  in  the  system,  which  is  in  a  state 
of  transition. 

Exercising  those  same  freedoms,  which  obviously  include  freedom 
of  the  press  and  of  expression,  I  had  the  duty  of  presenting  the  po- 
sition of  the  Jewish  community  and  of  vast  sectors  of  society  with 
the  President  of  Argentina  in  attendance  without  euphemisms  and 
ambiguities. 


19 

I  mention  that  speech  as  an  example  of  the  degree  of  freedom  ex- 
isting in  my  country  and  it  is  fair  to  acknowledge  that  the  behavior 
of  the  government  in  this  respect  and  the  merits  of  citizens  of  exer- 
cising their  rights  without  limitations,  without  self-censorship, 
without  fear,  all  of  which  do  not  belong  in  a  true  democratic  sys- 
tem. 

I  enclose  a  copy  of  that  speech  for  the  record  because  I  believe 
it  should  be  studied  by  this  subcommittee. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Without  objection,  that  speech  will  be  included  in 
the  record. 

[The  text  of  the  speech  appears  in  the  appendix.] 

Mr.  Beraja.  The  legitimate  demands  presented  in  that  speech 
have  found  a  positive  echo  in  the  government,  which  among  others 
has  implemented  a  series  of  security  measures  to  protect  Jewish  in- 
stitutions by  enforcing  those  in  existence  up  to  now  and  promised 
complementary  actions  within  the  framework  of  defense  and  for- 
eign relations  policy. 

With  reference  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  Security  Council 
of  the  United  Nations  at  the  request  of  the  Argentine  Government, 
we  are  not  satisfied  because  such  resolution  makes  no  reference — 
for  political  motivations — to  the  fact  that  the  attack  was  against 
the  center  of  Argentinean  Jewish  life.  ^ 

It  must  be  clear  that  we  have  not  yet  satisfied  all  our  aspira- 
tions, nor  are  we  making  any  compromise  in  our  strong  demands 
to  obtain  effective  answers  to  our  concerns. 

Our  nonpartisan  character,  our  status  as  a  nongovernmental  or- 
ganization, autonomous  and  independent  by  tradition  and  by  prin- 
ciple, gives  us  the  authority  to  fulfill  this  active  role  with  a  cer- 
tainty that  through  it  we  are  contributing  to  the  strengthening  of 
the  democracy  and  defending  legitimate  interests  of  society  as  a 
whole. 

With  that  same  authority,  we  express  before  this  distinguished 
body  our  call  to  face  fundamentalist  terrorism,  of  which  Argen- 
tina— at  the  very  heart  of  the  Jewish  community — has  been  the  vic- 
tim in  this  case. 

We  still  have  time  to  prevent  indifference  from  allowing  the  de- 
velopment of  Nazism  and  the  crimes  it  committed,  is  not  repeated 
in  the  face  of  an  ideology  that  does  not  hide  its  genocidal  fanati- 
cism, its  terrifying  violence  and  total  disregard  for  human  life. 

Based  on  what  has  been  previously  said,  we  consider  it  appro- 
priate to  request  the  following: 

One,  to  the  respected  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  represent- 
atives of  the  people,  view  the  terrorist  attack  as  a  highly  serious 
example  of  the  dangers  of  international  terrorism,  and  con- 
sequently articulate  legislative  measures  to  help  defeat  this  dan- 
gerous threat  to  peace  and  harmony  among  people. 

Two,  within  the  same  context,  we  request  that  the  initiatives  re- 
cently proposed  by  Argentinian  Foreign  Minister  to  the  Security 
Council  of  the  United  Nations  be  supported. 

Three,  that  the  United  States  continue  to  provide  maximum  co- 
operation to  Argentina  as  requested  toward  the  goal  of  finding 
those  responsible  for  the  criminal  attack. 

Four,  we  are  also  confident  that  the  U.S.  Congress  will  promote 
at  the  United  Nations  those  policies  that  would  involve  the  organi- 


84-344   -   94   -   2 


20 

zation  to  seek  sanctions  against  those  member  states  who  support 
or  protect  terrorists.  With  the  same  intent,  we  hope  that  the  Group 
of  Seven  will  join  their  efforts  toward  the  same  goals. 

Five,  we  also  respectfully  request  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  to  support  our  forthcoming  requests  to  the  European  Union, 
within  the  same  goals. 

Six,  it  is  natural  to  suggest  to  the  Organization  of  American 
States  that  added  to  their  public  condemnation  of  the  attack,  it 
adopts  a  resolution  in  order  to  work  together  to  prevent  and  com- 
bat international  terrorism. 

The  forthcoming  Hemispheric  Summit  that  will  take  place  in  De- 
cember in  Miami  must  be  the  opportunity,  as  announced  by  Sec- 
retary of  State  Mr.  Warren  Christopher,  for  the  heads  of  state  to 
effectively  express  their  solidarity  with  victims  of  terrorism  and 
adopt  adequate  decisions. 

Mr.  President,  we  have  to  face  international  terrorism.  Everyone 
is  a  potential  victim  and  no  one  has  the  right  to  remain  indifferent. 
Democratic  societies  constitutes  the  only  way  of  life  that  ensures 
the  protection  and  the  rights  of  all  its  citizens.  As  a  believer,  I  ap- 
peal to  the  spiritual  leaders  of  all  faiths  so  that  in  each  prayer  they 
ask  for  respect,  harmony  and  peace  between  all  human  beings. 

As  a  descendant  of  immigrant  Jews  coming  from  Syria,  where  as 
in  other  countries  of  the  region,  Jews  and  Muslims  coexisted  in  the 
past,  I  call  upon  them  so  that  they  do  not  allow  those  within  their 
midst  who  abhor  the  spiritual  values  of  their  faith,  committing  hor- 
rible crimes  under  its  name. 

We  urge  them  instead  to  join  those  who  are  actively  promoting 
the  peace  process  between  Israel  and  the  Arab  countries  for  the 
benefit  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  region  and  world  peace. 

Mr.  Chairman,  every  human  being  has  the  right  to  enjoy  the  fun- 
damental freedoms,  and  governments  have  the  responsibility  of  en- 
suring them.  Today  we  witness  with  great  concern  that  one  of 
those  essential  freedoms  is  in  danger,  the  freedom  from  fear.  Every 
one  of  us,  to  the  extent  of  his  or  her  responsibilities  must  join  ef- 
forts to  stop  the  threat  of  terrorism. 

Argentinean  society  has  made  it  very  clear:  We  stand  together 
against  terrorism. 

Thank  you  very  much. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Beraja.  That  was  a  very 
moving  statement. 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Mr.  Beraja  appears  in  the  appendix.] 

Mr.  Lantos.  We  will  begin  the  questioning  with  Congressman 
Oilman. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman. 

I  regret  the  delay  caused  by  my  having  to  be  in  my  district  in 
New  York  earlier  that  morning.  I  commend  you.  Chairman  Lantos, 
for  arranging  this  timely  hearing.  We  hope  as  a  result  of  this  hear- 
ing to  get  some  important  details  and  perspectives  of  the  horrors 
that  we  have  witnessed  over  the  last  few  weeks  with  regard  to 
international  terrorism  in  far  different  parts  of  the  globe. 

I  am  cognizant,  however,  that  we  are  now  at  a  very  early  stage 
in  the  inquiry  into  these  deadly  incidents,  and  that  speculation 
may  outrun  the  eventual  evidence.  We  won't  know  all  the  facts 


21 

until  all  the  evidence  and  intelligence  gathering  and  investigations 
are  fully  completed. 

The  recent  terrorist  incidents  in  Buenos  Aires  aboard  the  Pan- 
amanian commercial  airline  flight  and  in  London  may  well  be  con- 
tinents apart,  but  the  results  and  impact  are  the  same  the  world 
over.  Innocent  lives  have  been  lost  to  the  cowardly  and  deadly  ter- 
rorists bombs  and  attacks,  all  intended  to  illegitimately  influence 
the  course  of  peace  and  human  progress  in  the  world  today. 

We  must  not  surrender  progress  in  human  advancement  to  those 
who  do  not  have  the  courage  or  even  the  decency  to  engage  in  le- 
gitimate debate,  nor  does  any  grievance  or  concern  justify  such  de- 
plorable and  unlawful  conduct  against  peaceful  progress  in  the 
Middle  East  or  anywhere  else  on  the  globe. 

Former  President  Nixon  a  few  years  ago  said  of  another  cowardly 
and  deadly  terrorist  incident,  the  Pan  Am  103  bombing,  "I  have  no 
single  answer  to  the  problem  of  terrorism,"  said  President  Nixon, 
"but  from  experience,  I  know  that  our  Government's  policy  must  be 
one  of  relentless  investigation  of  such  incidents  and  punishment 
which  will  fit  the  crime  of  those  responsible  including  governments 
which  subsidize  terrorism  for  whatever  reason." 

President  Nixon's  advice  was  appropriate  then  for  our  Nation 
and  is  just  as  wise  advice  today  for  nations  of  the  world,  whether 
they  are  targets  of  this  violence  or  not,  and  for  all  those  who  cher- 
ish world  order  and  hope  for  peaceful  and  lasting  solutions  to  all 
hatreds,  conflicts  and  bitterness. 

I  warned  the  Clinton  administration  early  in  1993  that  we  must 
not  let  down  our  guard  against  a  threat  of  international  terrorism 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  witness  the  Trade  Center  bombing  in 
February  of  1993  and  these  latest  incidents  around  the  globe.  For 
that  reason,  I  opposed  the  proposed  elimination  of  the  high-level 
and  visible  Office  of  the  Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism  at  the 
State  Department  reporting  directly  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 
I  am  pleased  that  the  Congress  went  along  with  that  proposal. 

Our  Nation  and  the  entire  international  community  must  main- 
tain our  guard  and  vigilance  against  the  threat  of  today's  terror- 
ism. Today's  hearing  should  provide  us  with  the  vivid  evidence  of 
the  costs  and  horrors  of  such  threats,  and  we  welcome  the  oppor- 
tunity for  your  views  and  the  views  of  those  of  us  involved  in  this 
to  go  on  the  record. 

ANTITERRORISM  MEASURES  IN  ARGENTINA  FOLLOWING  THE  1992 
ATTACK  ON  THE  ISRAELI  EMBASSY 

I  do  have  a  few  questions,  Mr.  Chairman. 

The  modus  operandi  of  the  terrorists  who  struck  2  weeks  ago  in 
Buenos  Aires  is  nearly  identical  to  that  used  against  the  embassy, 
the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Argentina  in  1992. 

Can  you  tell  us,  are  there  steps  that  the  Argentine  Government 
failed  to  take  after  the  1992  attack  that  might  have  prevented  this 
tragic  reoccurrence?  Was  there  any  lapse  in  the  security  that  could 
have  been  avoided?  Why  was  no  one  ever  arrested  with  regard  to 
the  1992  embassy  attack? 

Mr.  Beraja.  I  would  like  to  answer  in  Spanish  and  ask  my  as- 
sistant to  translate. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Fine. 


22 

Would  you  identify  yourself  please? 

Mr.  Neuburger.  Alfredo  Neuburger,  executive  director  of  DAIA, 
the  representative  body  of  the  Argentinean  Jewish  community. 

I  will  translate  for  my  president. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Please  proceed. 

Mr.  Beraja.  Because  this  is  a  very  technical  and  political  issue 
and  I  need  to  be  very  clear. 

[Through  the  translator!.  When  the  bomb  exploded  in  the  Israeli 
Embassy  in  1992,  the  country  faced  a  totally  unexpected  phenom- 
ena. There  was  no  previous  indication  or  idea  that  international 
terrorism  would  hit  in  our  country. 

The  capability  and  information  that  the  intelligence  services  and 
the  security  forces  in  Argentina  had  before  that  event,  this  was 
told  to  us  by  appropriate  officials,  was  by  no  means  capable  of  hav- 
ing the  adequate  means  to  face  this  kind  of  threat  before  that  at- 
tack. 

After  the  1992  attack,  they  started  to  study  the  phenomenon  to 
deal  with  it,  to  get  involved  and  to  seek  and  obtain  cooperation 
from  other  governments  and  intelligence  organizations  to  face  it. 

After  the  attack  on  the  embassy,  the  security  forces  implemented 
special  protection  for  Jewish  organizations,  including  the  building 
that  was  destroyed  2  weeks  ago,  which  had  police  personnel  24 
hours  a  day  since  1992. 

And  also  the  Jewish  organizations  adopted  security  measures 
within  their  own  buildings  with  the  knowledge  of  the  specific  au- 
thorities. 

I  will  have  to  say  what  was  lacking — and  I  am  not  referring  yet 
to  the  investigation  by  the  courts — is  that  there  was  probably  inad- 
equate evaluation  of  the  potential  danger  after  the  attack  on  the 
embassy. 

Probably  nobody  believed  that  an  organization  dedicated  to  sei-v- 
ice  would  be  the  potential  objective  of  such  a  criminal  attack. 

Mr.  Oilman.  You  mentioned  that  there  was  police  security  pro- 
vided to  the  embassy  since  1992.  Was  that  security  in  place  during 
this  incident? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Yes.  The  police  personnel  were  there  and  both  po- 
licemen were  wounded  during  the  attack. 

Even  if  we  had  four  policemen  or  more,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  stop  that  kind  of  car  bomb  attack.  That  is  why  we  always  insist 
that  this  phenomena  of  international  terror  has  to  be  a  political  de- 
cision of  the  world  to  attack  it  in  its  own  bases  at  its  own  origins 
where  they  can  start  to  act  against  civilians. 

Mr.  Oilman.  How  many  police  were  assigned  to  the  embassy? 

Mr.  Beraja.  According  to  official  sources  we  have  received,  there 
was  one  policeman  who  was  supposed  to  be  guarding  the  entrance 
of  the  embassy  and  he  was  not  there  when  the  embassy  was  at- 
tacked in  1992. 

Mr.  Oilman.  That  was  in  1992.  What  about  the  current  attack? 

Mr.  Neuburger.  The  current  attack,  there  were  two  policemen 
with  the  patrol  car  close  to  the  door  of  the  building. 

Mr.  Oilman.  They  were  just  slightly  injured? 

Mr.  Neuburger.  We  don't  have  the  magnitude  of  their  injuries, 
but  the  car  was  parked  some  90  to  100  feet  from  the  place  where 
the  car  bomb  hit  the  building. 


23 

Mr.  Oilman.  Did  the  car  bomb  hit  the  building  near  the  entrance 
way? 

Mr.  Neuburger.  Just  by  the  entrance  of  the  building,  yes. 

Mr.  Oilman.  I  am  asking  now  the  witness,  and  you  are  testify- 
ing. 

How  far  from  the  entrance  way  was  the  car  parked? 

Mr.  Beraja  [through  the  translator].  Ten  to  5  meters  from  the 
main  entrance  of  the  building  that  was  the  usual  place  where 
the 

Mr.  Oilman.  So  that  is  just  a  few  feet  from  the  main  entrance 
and  the  police  car  was  several  hundred  feet  away;  is  that  what  you 
are  telling  me? 

Mr.  Neuburger.  Maybe  I  was  mistaken. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Let  the  witness  testify. 

Mr.  Beraja  [through  the  translator].  The  patrol  car  of  the  police 
was  parked  approximately  15  meters  from  the  entrance.  The  car 
bomb  hit  the  building  right  at  the  entrance  and  went  into  the 
building,  exploding  inside  the  building.  That  is  why  the  major  ef- 
fect was  within  the  building  and  there  was  also,  of  course,  exten- 
sive damage  in  the  street. 

Mr.  Oilman.  I  am  not  certain  I  understand  that  the  car  bomb 
went  into  the  building  when  the  car  was  parked  outside  the  build- 
ing and  so  was  the  police  car  outside  the  building.  If  there  was  that 
extensive  damage  to  the  building,  how  is  it  the  police  car  escaped, 
if  they  were  that  close  to  the  building? 

Mr.  Beraja.  The  police  car  was  almost  totally  destroyed.  The  po- 
licemen were  not  sitting  necessarily  inside  the  car.  They  were  al- 
ways standing  around  it,  but  the  police  car  had  extensive  damage. 

IVIr.  Oilman.  And  then  where  were  the  policemen  at  the  time  this 
occurred? 

Mr.  Beraja.  One  was  in  the  car.  One  was  in  front  of  the  AMIA. 
One  was  in  AMIA  buying  something. 

Mr.  Oilman.  There  were  only  two  policemen  assigned  to  this 
building;  is  that  right? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Yes. 

Mr.  Oilman.  I  understand  that  there  were  a  number  of  warnings 
about  possible  attacks  on  this  embassy.  Do  you  have  any  informa- 
tion about  that? 

Mr.  Beraja.  Since  1992  after  the  Israeli  Embassy  was  attacked, 
we  took  as  a  possibility  the  fact  that  there  could  be  attacks  against 
Jewish  organizations  in  the  country. 

In  the  building  that  was  recently  destroyed  in  December  1992, 
we  received  a  telephone  threat  about  a  possible  bomb  and  the 
building  was  evacuated  without  any  further  incident. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Are  you  aware  of  any  warnings  of  the  United  States 
with  regard  to  a  possible  attack  on  the  embassy? 

Mr.  Beraja.  No,  I  don't  know. 

Mr.  Oilman.  You  are  not  aware  of  that.  But  there  were  other 
warnings  that  the  Jewish  community  received  about  possible  at- 
tacks by  terrorists,  is  that  what  you  are  telling  us? 

Mr.  Beraja.  No.  We  received  threats,  as  mentioned,  and  some  in- 
dications that  there  could  be  a  danger  of  attacks,  and  since  April 
of  this  year,  the  Argentinean  police  reinforced  some  security  meas- 
ures at  Jewish  institutions. 


24 

Mr.  Oilman.  Were  any  of  those  warnings  or  threats  turned  over 
to  the  Argentine  Government  when  you  received  them? 

Mr.  Beraja.  We  permanently  kept  contact  with  the  Argentinean 
Government,  informed  them  of  every  incident  regularly,  and  dis- 
cussed appropriate  measures  with  the  government. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Were  any  barricades  placed  in  front  of  the  buildings 
as  a  result  of  these  threats? 

Mr.  Beraja.  No,  they  were  not. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Can  you  tell  us  what  you  know  about  the  borders 
of  Argentina?  Are  they  open  borders  that  allow  pretty  much  free- 
dom of  access  to  Argentinians? 

Mr.  Beraja.  This  is  a  serious  problem  in  Argentina,  the  border 
problem.  We  have  urged  the  authorities  to  take  action  in  terms  of 
a  better  control  of  those  borders  specifically  in  the  northeast  of  the 
country  bordering  areas  where  we  know  that  there  are  fundamen- 
talist groups  settled. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Have  any  steps  been  taken  to  try  to  close  those  bor- 
ders or  to  make  them  more  secure? 

Mr.  Beraja.  There  has  been  no  progress  or  solutions — I  have  to 
say  that  the  cooperation  of  Brazil  is  essential  for  the  objective  that 
you  have  stated,  and  Paraguay,  and  we  intend  to  pursue  this  with 
these  governments. 

Mr.  Oilman.  One  other  question,  Mr.  Chairman. 

What  about  the  airport  safety?  Has  there  been  any  attempt  to 
make  the  airport  safety  more  secure? 

Mr.  Beraja.  There  has  been  a  change  in  Argentina  in  terms  of 
security  conception  and  we  are  urging  that  solutions  be  imple- 
mented and  President  Menem  has  committed  himself  to  enhance 
and  improve  any  needed  security  measures  in  the  country. 

potential  impact  of  eliminating  the  independent  coordinator 

FOR  COUNTERTERRORISM  POSITION 

Mr.  Oilman.  Mr.  Chairman,  one  more  question  of  Mr.  Emerson. 

Last  year,  the  State  Department  unsuccessfully  tried  to  elimi- 
nate the  high-level  position  of  Independent  Coordinator  for 
Counterterrorism.  In  your  opinion,  is  that  the  best  way  for  our  Na- 
tion to  try  to  combat  international  terrorism? 

Mr.  Emerson.  The  policy  of  this  administration  to  eliminate  the 
high-level  coordinator  post  was  a  very  bad  decision.  The  operative 
word  in  fighting  terrorism  is  coordination,  and  this  requires  some- 
one to  serve  as  a  traffic  cop,  coordinating  all  the  intelligence,  pol- 
icy, and  security  issues  and  not  just  whether  airports  are  safe.  In 
the  end,  there  has  to  be  someone  who  will  push  for  effective  steps 
to  be  taken  against  Iranian  diplomats  who  use  the  diplomatic 
pouch  to  traffic  in  explosives  or  there  will  not  be  a  victory  against 
terrorism. 

To  the  extent  that  there  is  not  a  high-level  person  in  the  admin- 
istration willing  to  forcefully  argue,  and  argue  repeatedly  that  the 
administration  has  to  adopt  counterterrorism  policies,  because  as 
you  know,  many  in  the  State  Department  are  articulating  other  in- 
terests, and  counterterrorism  is  only  one  of  several  interests  in  the 
foreign  policy,  but  someone  needs  to  be  pushing  that  point  of  view. 

Unless  there  is  someone  pushing  that  point  of  view,  there  will 
not  be  an  effective  counterterrorism  policy  articulated. 


25 

Mr.  Oilman.  Thank  you. 

I  would  like  to  submit  a  statement  submitted  to  me  by  Rabbi  Avi 
Weiss  in  his  position  as  national  president  of  the  Coalition  for  Jew- 
ish Concerns  and  Senior  Rabbi  of  the  Hebrew  Institute  of  River- 
dale. 

Rabbi  Weiss  has  just  returned  from  Argentina  after  an  extensive 
review  of  this  terrorist  incident. 

Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Without  objection. 

Thank  you  very  much. 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Rabbi  Weiss  appears  in  the  appen- 
dix.] 

POSSIBLE  STEPS  TO  COUNTER  INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM 

Mr.  Lantos.  Mr.  Emerson,  if  you  were  appointed  Coordinator  for 
Counterterrorism,  what  steps  would  you  advocate  that  have  not  yet 
been  taken  by  our  Government? 

Mr.  Emerson.  One  of  the  first  steps  that  I  would  do  is  assemble 
an  intelligence  data  bank  that  local  and  international  law  enforce- 
ment would  have  available  to  them  in  monitoring  the  flow  of  people 
into  their  countries.  Too  often  at  any  Consular  Office  around  the 
world  either  belonging  to  the  United  States  or  other  countries, 
someone  walks  in  and  asks  for  a  visa  and  depending  upon  the 
mood  of  the  Consular  Officer  or  depending  upon  the  status  of  their 
computer  system  or  upon  their  ability  to  write  a  foreign-sounding 
name,  the  person  requesting  the  visa  will  likely  get  into  the  United 
States  or  other  countries. 

Mr.  Lantos.  This  subcommittee  held  extensive  hearings  on  how 
Sheik  Rahman  obtained  the  privilege  of  repeatedly  entering  the 
United  States  when,  in  fact,  there  was  information  available  indi- 
cating that  he  should  never  be  allowed  into  the  United  States.  So 
you  are  right  on  target  on  that  one. 

Any  others? 

Mr.  Emerson.  I  would  also  coordinate  policies  regarding  the  use 
of,  by  foreign  governments,  their  diplomatic  facilities  to  either  con- 
duct surveillance  overseas  or  actually  use  the  diplomatic  pouch  for 
illicit  purposes. 

I  believe  the  Iranian  Government  has  consistently  done  this.  I 
also  believe  that  there  are  other  countries  that  may  not  support  di- 
rectly such  attacks  as  in  Argentina,  but  also  facilitate  it,  countries 
like  Syria  which  is  in  the  mid-level  of  countries  that  facilitate 
international  terrorism  because  of  the  sovereignty  they  exercise 
over  countries  like  Lebanon,  which  is  the  largest  terrorist  base  in 
the  world  today. 

Mr.  Lantos.  What  specific  international  steps  would  you  rec- 
ommend at  this  stage  to  diminish  Iran's  ability  to  perpetrate  ter- 
rorist acts  around  the  globe? 

Mr.  Emerson.  First  of  all,  I  think  that  had  the  Argentinean  Gov- 
ernment and  other  governments  in  1992  initiated  a  series  of  severe 
steps,  including  the  possible  expulsion  of  the  Iranian  diplomats 
from  Argentina,  I  can't  say  for  sure,  but  the  chances  would  have 
been  reduced  that  they  would  have  repeated  the  same  act  2  years 
later. 


26 

I  don't  believe  that  countries  in  Europe  are  willing  to  take  the 
threat  seriously  for  various  reasons.  One  is  there  are  certain  kinds 
of  Faustian  deals  that  countries  conduct  with  Iran,  which  is  simple: 
We  will  turn  a  blind  eye  to  some  of  your  activities  as  long  as  you 
don't  target  our  civilians. 

Germany  for  a  long  time  turned  a  blind  eye  to  Iranian  terrorists 
on  German  soil  in  exchange  for  an  implicit  agreement  that  they 
would  not  attack  German  targets.  I  would  strongly  advocate  that 
any  regime  that  allows  terrorists  onto  its  soil  be  penalized. 

The  third  thing  I  would  do  is  to  advocate  a  coordinated  asylum 
policy.  It  is  ridiculous  that  Canada  allows  certain  Hizballah  terror- 
ists asylum.  If  you  acquire  asylum  in  Canada,  you  are  entitled  to 
a  passport.  So  if  you  can't  come  in  through  the  front  door  at  JFK, 
you  can  come  through  the  border  up  North.  This  problem  exists  in 
Europe  as  well. 

ROGUE  REGIMES  AND  MORAL  SUASION 

Mr.  Lantos.  You  mentioned  the  Salman  Rushdie  affair.  It  indi- 
cates a  degree  of  shamelessness  on  the  part  of  the  Iranian  regime 
which  has  a  contract  out  on  Rushdie's  life.  If  a  government  is  pre- 
pared to  publicly  advocate  the  assassination  of  an  individual  whose 
sole  crime  is  that  he  wrote  something  the  government  does  not 
like,  what  pressure  in  terms  of  moral  suasion  or  argument  do  you 
think  might  be  effective  in  applying  to  that  government?  Or  is 
there  any  argument,  any  exposure  in  the  arena  of  public  affairs, 
that  would  have  any  impact  on  a  government  like  this? 

Mr.  Emerson.  That  is  a  very  good  point.  The  Rushdie  affair — 
many  tire  of  hearing  about  it,  but  it  bears  repeating.  First  there 
is  a  man  who  is  in  permanent  hiding.  No.  2 

Mr.  Lantos.  He  is  in  permanent  hiding  not  for  anything  he  has 
done,  but  for  things  he  has  written. 

Mr.  Emerson.  Yes,  and  he  is  in  hiding  in  the  West.  He  is  not 
in  hiding  in  the  Middle  East.  The  same  threat  has  now  been  issued 
against  a  woman  writer  in  Bangladesh.  The  fact  is  that  the  private 
sector  in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe  showed  an  extreme 
amount  of  cowardice  in  response  to  the  threats  by  Iran  and  sup- 
porters about  not  publishing  subsequent  editions,  about  not  spon- 
soring Rushdie.  I  believe  the  private  sector  took  its  lead  from  the 
public  sector,  and  I  don't  believe  the  U.S.  or  British  Government 
has  done  enough  to  publicly  show  its  absolute  revulsion  for  what 
has  happened  with  Salman  Rushdie. 

President  Clinton  met  with  him,  which  was  a  courageous  and  a 
brave  thing  to  do.  On  the  other  hand,  a  day  or  two  later  when 
asked  at  a  press  conference  why  he  did,  he  diminished  the  signifi- 
cance of  his  meeting  by  saying  he  only  met  with  him  for  2  minutes. 

I  think  this  communicated  to  the  Iranians  and  supporters  that 
there  was  fear  in  the  West  that  they  have  succeeded  in  sending  a 
chilling  signal  to  Americans  and  to  Brits  that  if  they  don't  toe  the 
line  on  issues  that  the  Iranians  consider  close  to  their  heart,  then 
Americans  and  Brits  will  be  endangered. 

I  have  seen  this  repeatedly  in  the  United  States  even  regarding 
our  own  media  where  certain  issues  are  not  raised  because  of  the 
Rushdie  factor,  I  call  it,  the  factor  that  somehow  there  would  be 
physical  retribution  in  the  United  States  or  abroad  because  of  acts 


27 

we  take  that  are  fully  consistent  with  our  Constitution  and  I  think 
representative  of  the  democracy  that  we  have  always  had  in  this 
country. 

Mr.  Lantos.  I  want  to  thank  all  three  of  you  gentlemen  for  your 
most  valuable  contributions.  This  subcommittee  will  not  rest  until 
the  fight  against  international  terrorism  is  put  on  the  national 
agenda.  Your  assistance  in  this  endeavor  has  been  most  appre- 
ciated. 

Thank  you  very  much. 

Our  final  witness  this  morning  is  Ms.  Barbara  Bodine,  Coordina- 
tor for  Counterterrorism  for  the  Department  of  State.  We  are  very 
pleased  to  have  you. 

You  appeared  before  us  just  a  few  days  ago  in  connection  with 
the  Pan  Am  103  tragedy — almost  6  years  old  as  a  case,  still  no  res- 
olution. We  are  now  asking  you  to  comment  on  the  wave  of  inter- 
national terrorist  attacks  in  Argentina,  Panama,  and  the  United 
Kingdom. 

There  is  obviously  increased  security  in  the  United  States — there 
wasn't  an  individual  watching  television  who  did  not  see  the  huge 
garbage  trucks  being  drawn  around  diplomatic  facilities  in  New 
York.  It  is  unacceptable  to  many  of  us  that,  as  citizens  of  the  one 
remaining  superpower  in  the  world,  there  should  be  an  atmosphere 
of  fear  permeating  this  society  in  anticipation  of  terrorist  attacks 
by  extremists — Islamic  thugs  who  have  no  regard  for  human  life 
but  are  hell  bent  on  pursuing  their  objectives  by  all  means  at  their 
disposal. 

You  have  the  responsibility  as  Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism, 
as  the  point  person  for  our  Government,  to  deal  with  these  issues; 
and  we  are  most  grateful  that  you  agreed  recently  to  testify  twice 
before  us. 

Unfortunately,  the  issues  warrant  your  coming  with  this  degree 
of  frequency.  Your  prepared  statement  will  be  entered  in  the  record 
in  its  entirety.  You  may  proceed  in  any  way  you  choose. 

STATEMENT  OF  BARBARA  A.  BODINE,  COORDINATOR  FOR 
COUNTERTERRORISM,  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE 

Ms.  BODINE.  Thank  you. 

I  agree  that  it  is  totally  unacceptable  that  any  nation  and  any 
people  should  have  to  adopt  the  kinds  of  extraordinary  security 
measures  that  we  have  here  and  that  we  have  elsewhere. 

And,  of  course,  the  fundamental  purpose  of  the  Office  of  the  Co- 
ordinator for  Counterterrorism  is  to  work  with  both  appropriate  do- 
mestic agencies  here,  and  with  foreign  governments  around  the 
world,  to  devise  ways  to  both  deter,  resolve  and,  if  necessary,  re- 
spond to  terrorism  so  that  we  can  get  rid  of  this  scourge. 

I  do  appreciate  the  opportunity  to  testify  again,  and  while  it  is 
always  a  pleasure  to  be  here,  I  do  regret  the  circumstances  that 
bring  me  up  here  twice  in  a  week.  I  do  want  to  say  that  I  would 
like  to  take  this  opportunity  to  extend  on  behalf  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  entire  Department  our  deepest  sympathies  for  all 
the  victims  of  the  recent  terrorist  attacks  in  Buenos  Aires,  London, 
Panama,  and  the  unrelated,  but  still  tragic,  attacks  in  Madrid  and 
Northern  Ireland  last  Friday. 


28 

I  think  it  is  particularly  tragic  and  ironic  that  these  attacks  oc- 
curred just  as  prospects  for  peace  in  the  Middle  East  are  brighter 
than  they  have  been  in  a  century.  Let  me  assure  you  that  the 
forces  opposed  to  a  comprehensive  peace  in  the  Middle  East  will 
not  meet  their  objectives  by  attacks  on  civilians  literally  thousands 
of  miles  away. 

In  this  regard,  we  are  very  deeply  heartened  at  the  recent  mas- 
sive demonstration  by  150,000  Argentinians  that  took  place  in  Bue- 
nos Aires  to  demonstrate  their  solidarity  with  the  families  of  the 
victims  and  their  repudiation  of  the  bombing. 

Just  a  few  days  ago  we  were  up  here  discussing  our  response  to 
Pan  Am  103  and  in  many  ways  there  are  tragic  parallels  between 
that  and  the  AMIA  bombing.  Just  as  Pan  Am  103  demonstrated 
the  callousness  and  savagery  of  international  terrorism,  so  did  the 
AMIA  bombing.  More  importantly,  the  Pan  Am  103  bombing  and 
the  similar  acts  of  terrorism  in  the  1980's  invigorated  many  states 
to  combat  terrorism  through  the  application  of  the  rule  of  law  and 
by  bringing  pressure  to  bear  on  those  few  states  that  support  ter- 
rorism. I  trust  that  the  AMIA  bombing  and  the  incidents  that  fol- 
lowed it  will  produce  the  same  consequences  for  those  who  under- 
take such  attacks  and  those  governments  that  help  make  such  at- 
tacks happen. 

I  would  like  to  explain  what  the  U.S.  Government  has  done,  both 
in  the  aftermath  of  the  AMIA  bombing  and  a  similar  attack  in 
1992  on  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Buenos  Aires  to  assist  the  Govern- 
ment of  Argentina  in  its  efforts  to  investigate  and  to  bring  to  jus- 
tice those  responsible  for  this  outrage,  and  more  importantly,  to 
deter  future  attacks. 

In  1992,  and  again  following  the  AMIA  bombing,  we  sent  inves- 
tigative and  forensic  personnel  to  Buenos  Aires  to  provide  on-the- 
scene  assistance  to  their  Argentine  counterparts.  The  team  in- 
cluded representatives  from  the  State  Department's  Bureau  of  Dip- 
lomatic Security,  the  FBI,  and  Bureau  of  Alcohol,  Tobacco  and  Fire- 
arms. As  a  testament  to  how  serious  we  saw  this  bombing  and  the 
need  to  provide  the  very  best  to  the  Argentinians  to  determine  the 
cause  and  the  perpetrators,  we  dispatched  one  of  the  FBI's  top  fo- 
rensic experts,  the  same  man  who  had  done  the  forensics  at  the 
World  Trade  Center.  I  will  also  say  that  that  same  man  was  sent 
onward  to  Panama  to  again  apply  his  expertise. 

We  do  take  this  very  seriously.  In  order  to  again  help  the  Argen- 
tines, the  forensic  information  has  been  brought  back  to  the  States. 
It  will  be  processed  in  the  FBI  and  ATF  labs  and  for  both,  largely 
for  continuity  of  evidence  reasons,  an  Argentine  expert  has  come 
along  so  that  we  can  prosecute  these  people  to  the  fullest. 

A  very  important  point  that  I  think  we  all  agree  and  I  heard  the 
previous  panel  discuss  is  the  need  for  an  effective  exchange  of  in- 
telligence. This  is  absolutely  critical,  both  before  and  after  an  at- 
tack. All  elements  are  working  very  closely,  both  within  this  gov- 
ernment and  with  other  governments  affected  to  try  to  identify 
those  responsible. 

To  help  prevent  such  attacks  happening  in  the  future,  we  are 
also  providing  extensive  training  to  Argentina.  Among  the  courses 
that  we  have  offered  have  been  post-blast  investigation,  explosive 
incident  countermeasures,  and  a  terrorist  interdiction  seminar.  We 


29 

also  have  a  number  of  courses  offered  or  planned  for  the  future, 
and  I  have  submitted  a  list  of  those  for  the  record. 

We  have  been  deeply  concerned  over  the  past  several  years  over 
the  development  of  a  Hizballah  presence  in  Latin  America.  Last 
spring  we  approached  a  number  of  governments  throughout  that 
region  to  express  our  concern  over  the  Hizballah  presence.  Unfortu- 
nately, I  will  concede  that  the  response  from  many  of  the  govern- 
ments was  inadequate  at  the  time. 

We  are,  in  the  wake  of  this  most  tragic  bombing,  reinvigorating 
those  initiatives.  My  successor,  as  you  know,  will  be  making  a  trip 
to  about  six  key  Latin  American  countries  to  discuss  both 
Hizballah  presence,  Iranian  Embassy  presence,  and  possible  steps 
that  can  be  taken.  And  as  a  follow-on  to  that,  we  and  the  Argen- 
tines will  be  raising  it  at  the  Summit  of  the  Americas  looking  for 
concrete  steps  in  terms  of  intelligence  cooperation,  law  enforcement 
cooperation,  training,  and  other  ways  that  we  can  deal  with  this. 

I  would  also  like  to  address  the  issue  of  what  group  or  groups 
might  have  undertaken  this  attack.  The  1992  attack  on  the  Israeli 
Embassy  in  Buenos  Aires  was  clearly  the  work  of  Hizballah. 
Hizballah  publicly  claimed  responsibility  for  the  bombing  of  the 
embassy  and  when  that  claim  was  repudiated,  it  released  a  video 
to  make  sure  that  the  world  knew  that  it  was  responsible. 

This  bombing  of  the  last  2  weeks  demonstrates,  as  well  as  the 
bombing  of  1992,  the  global  reach  of  terrorists,  their  international 
nature,  and  their  willingness  to  attack  soft  targets,  largely  because 
of  their  symbolic  value. 

The  recent  bombings,  while  we  do  not  have  any  conclusive  evi- 
dence, do  bear  the  hallmarks  of  a  Hizballah  operation  and  a  state- 
ment about  the  attacks  has  been  made  by  a  group  using  the  name 
Ansar  Al-Allah  which  appears  to  be  an  offshoot  of  Hizballah. 

Mr.  Chairman,  while  this  hearing  has  been  called  to  address  the 
recent  AMIA  incident,  it  is  also  important  that  I  discuss  briefly  the 
apparent  bombing  of  a  commuter  plane  outside  of  Colon,  Panama. 
This  apparent  act  of  aviation  sabotage  killed  21  people,  including 
three  Americans.  It  is  too  early  to  conclude  definitively  if  the  objec- 
tive of  this  attack  was  political  in  nature  or  perhaps  a  personal 
vendetta  by  a  drug  cartel. 

It  is  worth  noting,  however,  that  Ansar  Al-Allah,  when  it  issued 
its  statement  regarding  the  AMIA  bombing,  also  included  a  ref- 
erence to  the  bombing  of  the  aircraft  in  Panama,  well  before  avia- 
tion experts  had  determined  that  the  plane,  in  fact,  had  been 
bombed. 

Just  as  in  the  case  of  Argentina,  we  are  working  very  closely 
with  the  Panamanian  authorities,  and  as  I  said,  we  did  dispatch 
the  same  forensic  expert  from  Argentina  to  Panama.  The  National 
Transportation  Safety  Board  and  the  FAA  have  also  been  involved 
in  the  investigation.  Because  three  Americans  were  among  the  cas- 
ualties of  this  plane,  the  FBI  is  opening  a  case  under  its  long-arm 
statute  to  prosecute  whomever  we  may  be  able  to  determine  was 
behind  this. 

In  a  related  matter,  I  think  it  is  worth  noting  an  another  exam- 
ple of  how  far  Iran  will  go  in  its  reach  to  silence  dissidents  and  to 
use  violence.  In  June  of  this  year,  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Moatamer  and 
his  family,  fled  Iran.  He  is  a  former  government  official  in  Tehran 


30 

and  he  and  his  family  fled  to  Turkey  and  then  managed  to  get  to 
Cuba. 

After  arriving  there,  the  Iranian  Embassy  personnel  forced  them 
onto  a  flight  to  Caracas.  When  they  were  there,  they  were  met  by 
other  Iranian  personnel  who  essentially  kidnapped  him  and  his 
family  in  preparation  for  a  forced  repatriation.  He  and  his  family 
now  thankfully  are  safe. 

The  Government  of  Venezuela,  I  am  pleased  to  state,  has  de- 
clared all  the  Iranian  officials  involved,  as  well  as  the  Ambassador 
persona  non  grata.  While  this  in  and  of  itself  is  an  interesting  ex- 
ample of  Iran's  efforts,  it  also  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the  current 
case.  The  Government  of  Argentina  is  investigating  carefully  infor- 
mation provided  by  Mr.  Moatamer  concerning  the  AMIA  bombing. 

Last  week  we  also  saw  two  additional  acts  of  international 

Mr.  Lantos.  Before  you  address  the  London  bombing,  let  me  stop 
you  here  for  a  minute. 

Ms.  BODINE.  Of  course. 

Mr.  Lantos.  The  Iranian  Government  has  issued  a  statement  de- 
nying that  Mr.  Moatamer  was  at  any  time  an  Iranian  Government 
official.  What  is  our  information  on  this  matter? 

Ms.  BODINE.  Our  information  is  that  the  Iranian  statement  is  not 
quite  accurate,  that  by  all  the  information  that  we  have,  he  is  a 
government  official.  I  would  say  empirical  evidence  that  there  is 
something  to  this  gentleman  was  the  extreme  lengths  that  the  Ira- 
nian Government  went  to  to  try  to  get  a  hold  of  him  and  get  him 
back  to  Iran.  He  clearly  is  of  importance  to  the  Iranian  Govern- 
ment. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you. 

Ms.  BODINE.  As  I  said,  we  unfortunately  had  two  additional  acts 
of  terrorism  last  week,  this  time  in  London.  One  target  was  the  Is- 
raeli Embassy  and  the  other  was  an  office  of  a  Jewish  social  service 
agency.  Remarkably,  almost  miraculously,  no  one  was  killed  in  ei- 
ther one  of  these  incidents,  although  some  20  persons  were  injured. 

The  British,  of  course,  have  extensive  experience  in  investigating 
bombings  and  they  have  not  sought,  nor  did  we  offer,  any  technical 
assistance.  But  we  do  work  very  closely  with  them  and  we  will  be 
sharing  information  with  them  and  try  to  see  if  there  is  a  link  be- 
tween these  bombs  and  the  others. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  events  of  the  last  2  weeks  demonstrate  all  too 
clearly  that  international  terrorism  remains  a  threat  to  democratic 
states  and  to  their  people  throughout  the  world.  At  the  same  time, 
I  do  believe  we  are  making  progress  in  limiting  the  number  of 
states  willing  to  sponsor  terrorism  and  the  support  they  provide. 

We  will  be  doing  more  in  this  regard  as  Secretary  Christopher 
described  in  his  testimony  before  this  subcommittee  last  Thursday. 
Efforts  such  as  those  described  by  the  Secretary  and  the  longstand- 
ing policy  objectives  and  programs  that  we  pursue  to 
counterterrorism  are  the  best  ways,  we  believe,  to  reduce  further 
the  perils  posed  by  terrorism.  The  task  is  neither  quick  nor  always 
successful,  but  I  want  to  assure  you  and  this  subcommittee  of  the 
commitment  of  the  State  Department  to  do  all  that  it  can  to  meet 
this  goal. 

Thank  you. 


31 

[The  prepared  statement  of  Barbara  A.  Bodine  appears  in  the  ap- 
pendix.] 

IMPROVING  THE  U.S.  STATE  DEPARTMENT'S  OFFICE  OF 
COUNTERTERRORISM 

Mr.  Lantos.  Ms.  Bodine,  let  me  begin  by  asking  a  very  broad 
question,  which  given  the  timing  of  your  imminent  departure  as 
our  Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism  is  an  appropriate  one.  I  want 
to  commend  you  for  a  job  very  well  done. 

Ms.  BODINE.  Thank  you. 

Mr.  Lantos.  We  are  all  in  your  debt;  and  as  you  leave  the  De- 
partment of  State,  you  gain  a  new  degree  of  freedom  because  you 
will  no  longer  be  under  instructions  and  you  will  be  able  to  speak 
your  own  mind. 

You  still  have  a  few  more  days  when  you  are  under  instructions; 
but  given  that  limitation,  in  what  ways  do  you  think  that  the  Of- 
fice of  Counterterrorism  can  be  maae  more  effective  and  more 
central  to  the  purposes  that  we  seek,  namely,  to  put  an  end  to  this 
nightmare  of  international  terrorism? 

Ms.  Bodine.  I  would  like  to  begin  by  saying  that  these  last  al- 
most 3  years  that  I  have  been  in  S/CT  have  been  probably  the  most 
interesting,  if  sometimes  exhausting  and  certainly  fulfilling  time  in 
my  career.  One  of  the  primary  reasons  for  that  is  learning  what  the 
U.S.  Grovernment  has  put — what  assets  it  has  put  on  the  effort  to 
counterterrorism  over  the  last  10  years  and  the  people  who  are  a 
part  of  that  effort. 

There  is,  as  you  know,  a  standing  structure,  it  is  about  10  years 
old,  that  was  developed  in  the  mid-1980's  to  combat  terrorism 
worldwide.  It  includes  a  number  of  elements  of  the  executive 
branch,  the  CIA,  the  FBI,  Justice,  all  of  the  key  players  that  you 
would  well  imagine,  and  from  time  to  time  almost  every  other  ele- 
ment of  the  government. 

There  is  a  remarkable  dedication  among  all  of  those  people  to 
working  their  part  of  the  problem.  It  is  one  of  the  places  where  I 
have  seen  probably  less  turf  battles  than  I  have  ever  seen  in  my 
career,  and  I  think  this  is  something  to  be  noted  and  commended. 

I  think  that  the  commitment  of  the  Department  to  making  sure 
that  the  role  of  the  Coordinator,  which  is  a  very  key  role  in  this 
interagency  process,  has  been  confirmed  by  the  selection  of  my  suc- 
cessor who — I  believe  you  have  met  him — is  a  senior  officer  of  con- 
siderable experience,  his  name  will  also  be  going  up  to  the  Senate 
to  be  confirmed  as  Ambassador  as  well. 

I  think  what  we  have  is  we  have  something  that  is  not  broken. 
It  doesn't  really  need  to  be  fixed.  It  does  need,  I  think,  the  atten- 
tion of  Congress  to  help  us  fulfill  some  of  the  improvements  that 
we  would  like  to  see. 

I  mentioned  the  other  day  implementing  language  on  conven- 
tions. There  are  a  number  of  elements  of  the  CT  program  that  re- 
quire congressional  appropriation  and  authorization,  which  we  defi- 
nitely need. 

establishing  a  central  intelligence  bank 

Mr.  Lantos.  Well,  how  about  this  issue  of  a  central  intelligence 
bank? 


32 

Ms.  BoDLNE.  Yes,  I  did  hear  that.  There  is — as  part  of  the  inter- 
agency structure,  there  is  a  community  counterterrorism  board 
which  includes  27  different  government  agencies,  all  of  which  ei- 
ther have  sources  of  information  that  may  be  relevant  and/or  uses 
of  the  information.  That  information  is  shared.  I  think  there  is  far 
more  sharing  of  information  than  Mr.  Emerson  may  fully  appre- 
ciate. 

There  is  certainly  a  great  deal  in  improving  coordination  between 
the  FBI  and  the  Agency,  and  certainly  the  State  Department  has 
taken  enormous  steps  in  the  last  year  to  accelerate  our  comput- 
erization program  and  also  to  much  more  effectively  share  informa- 
tion within  embassies. 

I  will  be  candid  with  you,  there  were  times  when  sometimes  po- 
litical sections  would  pick  up  information  and  not  always  think  to 
give  it  to  the  consular  section. 

Mr.  Lantos.  You  know,  it  wasn't  so  long  ago  that  we  had  a  series 
of  hearings  on  the  issue  of  the  blind  sheik  entering  and  reentering 
the  United  States  while  inciting  his  designs  to  murder  in  terrorism, 
culminating  in  the  World  Trade  Center  bombing. 

Can  you  assure  us  that  such  consular  mistakes  as  the  one  in 
Sudan  giving  him  his  initial  visa  is  no  longer  feasible? 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  I  can  assure  you  that  both — every  effort  has  been 
made  to  both  upgrade  the  facilities  available  to  consular  officers, 
graduating  from  the  1920  microfiche  into  the  20th  century  world 
of  computers.  There  has  also  been  an  enormous  appreciation  within 
the  consular  section  and  other  sections  of  the  need  to  very  carefully 
vet  these  sort  of  people. 

I  would  take  issue  with  one  of  the  comments  from  the  previous 
panel  that  checking  names  is  something  that  is  done  on  the  whim 
of  the  consular  officer  and  how  they  happen  to  feel  that  morning. 
There  are  very  strict  guidelines  as  to  when  and  who  names — whose 
names  are  supposed  to  be  checked. 

I  think  one  of  the  problems  that  we  had  in  Khartoum  was  that 
we  had  very  inadequate  support  mechanisms.  That  has  been  taken 
care  of.  Will  there  never,  ever,  ever  be  a  mistake?  It  is  human  na- 
ture. Has  every  effort  been  made  in  terms  of  the  facilities  and  the 
training  of  consular  offiicers?  Yes,  I  do  believe  that  has  been  done. 

counterterrorism:  going  after  the  sponsors  of  terrorism 

Mr.  Lantos.  Now,  in  fighting  terrorism,  Ms.  Bodine,  we  are  real- 
ly talking  about  two  entirely  different  kinds  of  things.  We  are  talk- 
ing about  tactical  issues  such  as  how  do  you  prevent  a  suicide 
bomber  from  reaching  an  embassy  site;  and  while  these  are  very 
important,  they  really  don't  go  to  the  core  of  the  issue.  And,  the 
core  of  the  issue  is  to  go  after  the  sponsoring  governments. 

International  terrorism  in  1994  is  increasingly  a  government- 
sponsored  activity.  You  have  been  involved  with  meetings  at  the 
highest  councils  of  our  government  in  this  field.  Is  there  a  deter- 
mination that  you  could  detect  to  use  whatever  force  is  necessary 
to  go  to  the  source  so  that  the  perpetrators  of  international  terror- 
ism at  the  top  level  are  properly  brought  to  justice? 

Ms.  Bodine.  The  short  answer  is  yes.  You  made  the  very  proper 
distinction  between  what  is  technically  antiterrorism,  which  is  put- 


33 

ting  up  the  physical  barriers,  and  the  counterterrorism,  which  is  to 
prevent  it. 

As  I  stated,  you  know,  we  have  three  goals  in  our  office,  which 
is  to  deter,  to  resolve,  and  respond;  and  obviously  to  deter  comes 
first,  if  we  can  keep  it  from  happening.  State  sponsorship  has  been 
the  hallmark  of  contemporary  terrorism.  It  is  what  distin- 
guishes  

Mr.  Lantos.  Just  for  the  record,  will  you  recite  for  us  the  coun- 
tries which  are  still  on  the  list 

Ms.  BODINE.  Yes. 

Mr.  Lantos  [continuing].  Of  countries  that  sponsor  terrorism? 

Ms.  BODINE.  The  State-sponsored  list  is  Iran,  Iraq,  Syria,  Libya, 
North  Korea,  Cuba,  and  Sudan  which  was  added  last  summer. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Is  there  any  intention  of  removing  any  of  these  in 
the  foreseeable  future  from  the  list? 

Ms.  BoDENE.  No,  there  is  no  intention  at  all  of  removing  any  of 
them.  There  have  been  efforts  by  some  to  get  themselves  removed, 
and  we  have  made  it  very  clear  to  them  that  there  are  a  number 
of  steps  that  they  need  to  take  and  they  have  not  fulfilled  them. 

As  you  know,  while  the  Secretary  has  it  within  his  discretion  to 
put  a  state  on  the  list,  in  order  to  take  a  state  off  the  list,  we  must 
notify  Congress  and  we  certainly  would  and  we  would  come  infor- 
mally before  the  formal  process.  There  is  no  effort  at  all  to  take 
anyone  off  at  this  time. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much. 

Congressman  Oilman. 

PLACING  TIGHTER  RESTRICTIONS  ON  GRANTING  VISAS 

Mr.  Oilman.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  too  want  to  commend 
Ms.  Bodine  for  her  excellent  work  during  her  tenure  in  the  State 
Department  and  particularly  in  counterterrorism,  and  for  her  rec- 
ommendations with  regard  to  the  Pan  Am  103  bombing  which  we 
heard  last  week. 

Ms.  Bodine,  under  a  1990  change  in  our  immigration  laws,  un- 
less an  individual  has  been  convicted  in  a  full  trial  or  we  have  evi- 
dence that  he  or  she  intends  to  commit  a  terrorist  act  within  our 
country,  the  State  Department  has  been  reluctant  to  deny  a  visa 
to  even  a  member  of  a  terrorist  group  absent  that  kind  of  evidence. 

Don't  you  think  it  is  time  we  closed  that  loophole  and  did  some- 
thing about  making  more  severe  restrictions  on  granting  a  visa, 
even  if  we  suspect  that  they  are  terrorists? 

Ms.  Bodine.  As  you  note,  a  lot  of  this  comes  from  the  change  in 
the  immigration  law  in  1990  where,  as — to  be  honest,  it  was  an  end 
of  the  cold  war  thing  to  remove  mere  membership  from  grounds  of 
exclusion,  and  it  ended  up  covering  terrorist  groups  as  well,  except 
at  that  time  the  PLO. 

We  would  take  any  information  that  someone  is  actively  support- 
ing terrorism.  It  doesn't  actually  have  to  be  conviction,  but  there 
has  to  be  a  known  record  of  having  actively,  overtly  supported  acts 
of  terrorism. 

The  question  of  opening  it  up  to  mere  membership  in  terrorist 
groups  is  something  I  know  the  Consular  Bureau  has  looked  at  and 
reviewed,  and  feels  that  insofar  as  some  groups  have  very  broad 
concentric  circles  of  what  membership  includes,  that  we  may  be 


34 

taking  on  a  burden  that  would  be  so  onerous  that  we  could  actually 
end  up  stressing  our  system  to  the  point  that  we  may  not  be  able 
to  find  the  people  at  the  core.  We  need  to  keep  our  efforts  focused 
on  the  core  members,  those  that  have  track  records,  either  verbal 
or  criminal,  to  go  after  them.  Tightening  it  is  one  thing.  A  blanket 
exclusion  of  all  members  is  considered  unwieldy  and  probably  un- 
necessary. 

THE  NECESSITY  OF  HAVING  AN  INDEPENDENT  OFFICE  FOR  THE 
COORDINATION  OF  COUNTERTERRORISM 

Mr.  Oilman.  You  and  I  had  some  discourse  about  the  need  for 
a  Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism.  As  you  are  about  to  leave  of- 
fice, what  are  your  thoughts  about  the  necessity  for  having  an  indi- 
vidual office  for  the  coordination  of  counterterrorism? 

Ms.  BoDENE.  Well,  the — I  know  that  it  is  still  considered  an  open 
question,  that  the  amendment  extended  the  independent  life  of  S/ 
CT  for  1  year  and  that  there  will  be  some  hearings,  I  understand, 
early  in  1995. 

I  think  what  is  important  in  considering  the  status  of  the  office 
is  to  look  at  both  who  is  selected  for  Coordinator  and  to  look  at  the 
overall  policy  of  the  government.  It  is  a  question  of  focus  and  a 
question  of  importance,  not  really  a  question  of  where  you  fit  in  the 
bureaucracy  in  terms  of  layering. 

To  be  honest,  you  could  have  an  independent  office  and  a  very 
weak  coordinator.  You  could  have  the  coordinator  within  a  broader 
bureau  and  if  it  is  a  strong  person  with  the  right  kind  of  back- 
ground and  you  have  the  proper  attention  from  the  administration, 
then  they  will  be  able  to  operate  effectively.  It  is  a  question  of  in- 
tent, I  think,  rather  than  structure. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Well,  I  assume  that  you  recognize  how  important 
the  issue  is. 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  Yes. 

THE  priority  OF  COUNTERTERRORISM  EFFORTS  IN  THE  U.S. 

GOVERNMENT 

Mr.  Oilman.  How  important  the  responsibility  of  our  Oovern- 
ment  is,  no  matter  what  we  do  with  it,  I  welcome  your  thoughts 
about  the  kind  of  stress  that  we  should  be  giving,  the  priority  we 
should  be  giving  in  our  battle  against  counterterrorism. 

Ms.  BODINE.  I  think  one  of  the  things  that  has  been  clear,  if 
nothing  else,  is  the  fact  that  we  have  had  two  hearings  in  almost 
that  many  days,  it  is  a  very  clear  high  priority  of  the  administra- 
tion. 

I  think  President  Clinton  has  made  that  perfectly  clear  in  some 
of  his  recent  statements,  including  in  the  aftermath  of  these  bomb- 
ings. It  was  very  clear  in  the  President's  statement  before  the  U.N. 
General  Assembly  last  year,  almost  a  year  ago.  It  is  certainly  of  the 
highest  priority  within  the  Department.  I  know  that  this  is  an 
issue  that  is  taking  the  Secretary's  personal  attention  at  this  time 
and  it  always  does. 

I  will  state  that  regardless  of  where  CT  has  been  technically 
within  the  building,  that  in  terms  of  having  a  hearing  on  the  sev- 
enth floor,  of  having  access  on  the  seventh  floor,  of  the  issue  being 


35 

taken  seriously  on  the  seventh  floor,  there  has  never  been  a  ques- 
tion. 

Mr.  Oilman.  As  you  review  these  three  incidents,  the  bombing  in 
Argentina,  the  bombing  in  London,  the  one  in  Panama,  did  you  see 
any  common  thread  going  through  those? 

Ms.  BODINE.  I  think  just  simply  looking  at  both  the  modus  ope- 
randi, as  we  said,  the  hallmarks  of  Hizballah  and  the  public  state- 
ments that  have  been  made,  Buenos  Aires  and  Panama  were 
claimed  by  Ansar  Al-Allah,  which  is  a  known  name  of  one  of  the 
Hizballah  subgroups,  and  London  was  claimed  by  the  movement 
for  the  oppressed,  which  is  a  slight  variation  again  on  a  known 
subgroup. 

So  I  think  between  the  question  of  the  modus  operandi  and  the 
names  of — who  have  claimed  it,  we  have  a  thread.  We  also  have 
the  threat  that  came  from  Fadlallah  that  these  kind  of  attacks 
would  be  forthcoming  and  in  the  Ansar  Al-Allah  last  statement  fol- 
lowing Buenos  Aires  in  Panama,  there  was  a  threat  that  there  was 
more  to  come.  Shortly  thereafter,  we  had  London. 

So  I  think  all  of  the  circumstantial  evidence  is  there.  We  don't 
have  any  forensics  right  now,  but  we  certainly  have  a  great  deal 
of  circumstantial  evidence. 

WARNINGS  PRIOR  TO  THE  RECENT  TERRORIST  ATTACK  IN  ARGENTINA 

Mr.  Oilman.  Ms.  Bodine,  did  you  send  any  information  to  the  Ar- 
gentine Oovernment  of  any  threats  that  we  were  aware  of  with  re- 
gard to  the  Jewish  community  or  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Argentina 
prior  to  this  incident  occurring? 

Ms.  Bodine.  We  were  not  aware  of  any  specific  threat  to  either 
one  of  those  buildings  prior  to  the  attack.  We  have  been  discussing 
with  the  Argentine  Government,  at  least  since  1992  and  the  bomb- 
ing of  the  embassy,  the  question  of  Hizballah  presence. 

As  I  said,  we  have  undertaken  a  very  active  training  program. 
The  general  issue  of  threat  has  been  there  and  has  been  something 
we  have  been  working  on.  A  specific  threat  to  either  one  of  those, 
we  were  not  aware  of  that.  We  would  have  shared  it  if  we  had 
known. 

recommendations  to  the  argentine  government  on  the  issue 

of  security 

Mr.  Oilman.  Did  we  make  specific  recommendations  to  the  Ar- 
gentine Oovernment  with  regard  to  security,  tightening  up  secu- 
rity? 

Ms.  Bodine.  We  have  had  a  number  of  discussions  with  them  on 
security  procedures  in  general.  As  I  said,  both  some  antiterrorism 
and  counterterrorism  training,  and  I  am  quite  confident  that  the 
Israeli  Government  and  the  Israeli  Embassy  itself  is  in  close  con- 
tact with  the  Argentine  Oovernment. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Were  your  recommendations  pursued  by  the  Argen- 
tine Government? 

Ms.  Bodine.  I  don't  know  if  each  of  them  was  pursued  in  detail, 
but  I  do  know  that  the  Argentine  Government  did  take  it  seriously. 
Whether  or  not — and  apparently  obviously  not;  they  were  not  ade- 
quate. But  we  did  make  the  recommendations.  I  do  not  know  the 


84-34A  -   94   -   3 


36 

details  of  what  was  recommended,  and  I  don't  know  the  details  of 
what  was  done. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Who  made  those  recommendations  to  the  Argentine 
Government? 

Ms.  BODINE.  A  lot  of  it  would  have  come — the  kind  of  general 
recommendations  would  have  come  through  a  number  of  our  train- 
ing courses.  As  I  said,  I  think  specific  recommendations  on  security 
for  both  the  Israeli  Embassy  and  for  some  of  the  domestic  organiza- 
tions probably  would  have  come  from  the  Israeli  Government, 
which  has  its  own  very  good  track  record  and  very  strong  series  of 
recommendations. 

Mr.  GiLMAN.  But  you  are  not  aware  of  any  of  these  recommenda- 
tions that  were  made? 

Ms.  BODINE.  Not  the  specific  ones,  no. 

Mr.  GiLMAN.  Did  we  make  any  recommendations  with  regard  to 
the  Argentine  airport? 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  We  have  been  involved  with  the  Argentine  airport. 
We  have  had  some  problems  with  it  before.  We  are  going  to  be  tak- 
ing some  additional  steps  with  the  Argentine  Government  to  try  to 
further  increase  their  security  there. 

As  I  said,  another  part  that  we  have  been  looking  at  is  the  ques- 
tion of  terrorist  interdiction.  We  do  have  a  major  problem  with  an 
insecure  area  along  the  Argentine,  Brazilian,  Uruguay,  and  Para- 
guayan border.  It  is  sort  of  a  no-man's  land,  and  this  is  an  area 
that  we  have  discussed  with  the  Argentines  as  to  how  they  might 
want  to  handle  that  as  well. 

Mr.  GiLMAN.  Has  the  Argentine  Government  responded  construc- 
tively to  your  recommendations? 

Ms.  BODINE.  We  think  they  have  responded  constructively.  It  is 
a  new  issue.  It  is  something  they  are  still  working  on.  Two  years 
is  not  a  very  long  time,  unfortunately,  in  getting  a  handle  on  all 
of  these  kinas  of  recommendations. 

But  we  have  found  the  Argentines  cooperative.  We  have  found 
them  understanding.  We  have  found  them  more  than  anxious  to 
have  any  kind  of  help  in  training  that  we  have,  and  they  have 
made  a  very  key  point  that  obviously  my  successor,  one  of  the 
central  parts  of  his  trip  around  Latin  America  is  going  to  be  to  Ar- 
gentina and  the  Argentines  have  agreed  to  be  cosponsors  with  us 
of  having  terrorism  added  to  the  Summit  of  the  Americas. 

Mr.  GiLMAN.  Does  your  office  have  a  record  of  any  recommenda- 
tions that  were  made  to  the  Argentine  Government  with  regard  to 
security,  with  regard  to  the  airport,  with  regard  to  the  borders? 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  We  would  have  that  at  the  office  and  I  would  be 
able  to  get  some  of  that  for  you  of  course. 

Mr.  GiLMAN.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  request  that  our  rec- 
ommendations that  have  been  made  to  the  Argentine  Government 
with  regard  to  tightening  up  security  at  both — at  all  three  of  these 
areas,  the  airport,  the  borders,  and  with  regard  to  the  embassy  in 
the  metropolitan  area  of  Buenos  Aires,  that  it  be  made  a  part  of 
the  record. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Without  objection. 

[The  information  follows:] 

Training  in  antiterrorism  security  matters  has  been  provided  to  the  Argentine 
Government  on  a  broad  range  of  topics  by  the  Antiterrorism  Assistance  Program. 


37 

Each  of  the  specific  courses  presents  a  total  concept  of  security  for  that  area,  and 
has  a  formal  set  of  objectives  (which  might  be  considered  recommendations)  which 
when  fully  implemented  provide  integrated  security.  However,  the  objectives  are 
presented  genericallv — not  identified  as  applying  to  any  specific  building.  A  list  of 
training  which  has  been  provided,  and  the  objectives  of  that  training  is  forwarded 
for  the  record. 

Ms.  BODINE.  I  will  note  in  the  review  of  terrorist  assistance 
training  we  have  done  for  the  Argentines,  in  1992  we  did  do  an  air- 
port security  assessment  and  that  was  one  of  the  very  first  things 
that  we  did  put  down.  In  fiscal  year  1993  we  also  did  an  airport 
security  management  course.  So  this  has  been  a  part  of  our  train- 
ing, and  I  will  get  the  details  for  you  for  the  record. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Those  were  specific  recommendations  made  in 
1992? 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  1992  was  the  assessment.  1993  was  the  security 
management  course. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Recommendations  were  made  about 

Ms.  BoDiNE.  Recommendations  would  have  been  made  during 
the  course  of  that. 

Mr.  Oilman.  In  1993. 

Ms.  Bodine.  1992  and  1993,  that  is  correct. 

Mr.  Oilman.  As  part  of  your  report  to  us,  would  you  indicate 
which  of  your  recommendations  were  followed  through  by  the  Ar- 
gentine Oovernment? 

Ms.  Bodine.  I  certainly  will. 

Mr.  Oilman.  Thank  you.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman. 

Mr.  Lantos.  Thank  you  very  much,  Congressman  Oilman. 

Ms.  Bodine,  as  a  final  word,  may  I  just  wish  you  the  very  best 
in  your  new  endeavors.  We  will  miss  your  appearances  before  this 
subcommittee,  but  we  are  deeply  grateful  for  the  outstanding  work 
you  have  done. 

Ms.  Bodine.  Thank  you  very  much.  I  appreciate  that. 

Mr.  Lantos.  This  hearing  is  adjourned. 

[Whereupon,  at  12:25  p.m.,  the  subcommittees  were  adjourned.] 


APPENDIX 


Opening  Statement 
Hon.  Tom  Lantos,  Chairman 

Subcommittee  on  Intemationai  Security, 
International  Organizations  and  Human  Rights 

"International  Terrorism: 
Buenos  Aires,  Panama  and  London" 
August  1,  1994 

The  Subcommittee  on  Intemationai  Security,  Intemationai  Crganizations  and  Human 
Rights  and  the  Subcomminee  on  Westem  Hemisphere  Affain  will  come  to  order.  Today,  the 
Subcomminee  will  focus  its  attention  on  Intemationai  terrorism  in  the  aftemiath  of  the  recent 
outbrealc  of  terrorist  bombings  in  Buenos  Aires,  London,  and  possibly  Panama. 

On  the  surface  these  terrorist  bombings  appear  to  be  new  attacks  against  Israeli  and 
Jewish  targets  —  the  bomb  in  Buenos  Aires  was  directed  against  the  Jewish  Community  Center, 
and  it  was  strikingly  similar  to  a  bombing  against  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Buenos  Aires  just  two 
years  ago;  the  two  bombs  in  London  were  directed  against  the  Israeli  embassy  and  against  a 
Jewish  community  center  there.  In  reality,  however,  we  are  facing  a  new  and  violent  upsurge 
in  a  much  broader,  more  insidious  and  dangerous  war  against  civilized  societies,  against 
democracy  and  pluralism,  against  the  West. 

Just  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  one  of  the  first  series  of  hearings  I  conducted  as  Chairman 
of  this  subcommittee  was  on  the  bombing  of  the  World  Trade  Center  in  New  York.  That 
terrorist  attack  resulted  in  the  death  of  several  people,  the  injury  of  hundreds,  and  property 
damage  at  astronomical  levels. 

Last  Thursday,  this  Subcomminee  held  yet  another  hearing  on  the  terrorist  attack  against 
an  .A.inencan  aircraft  —  Pan  Am  Flight  103,  which  exploded  over  Lockerbee,  Scotland.  This 
terronst  atrocity  resulted  in  the  deaths  of  over  250  people,  including  189  American  citizens  — 
Catholics,  Protestants,  and  Jews. 

The  collapse  of  the  Soviet  Empire,  which  represented  a  global  military  threat  to  the 
civilized  world,  has  now  left  the  United  States  in  a  position  that  today  there  is  no  military  force 
that  can  defeat  us  on  the  banlefield.  But  pain  and  suffering  and  chaos  can  be  inflicted  on  the 
United  States  and  on  the  civilized  world  by  terrorists  on  the  streets  of  our  cities,  in  our  airports, 
and  on  our  aircraft. 

.A.nd  the  horror  and  destruction  that  we  have  seen  already  are  only  a  small  part  of  what 
we  could  see  m  the  future.  Just  a.few  weeks  ago  in  this  hearing  room,  the  Subcommittee  heard 
from  tlie  Director  of  Central  Intelligence,  James  Woolsey,  who  testified  of  the  potential  danger 
of  nuclear  weapons  falling  into  the  hands  of  terrorists.    Clearly  the  kind  of  people 

bombed  who  bombed  the  World  Trade  Center,  and  who  carried  out  the  series  of 

boiiibmgs  of  the  last  few  weeks  are  capable  of  seeking  and  using  nuclear  weapons,  as  well  as 
clK-mical  and  biological  weapons. 

(39) 


40 


STATEMENT  BY 
THE  AMBASSADOR  OP  ARGENTINA, 
HIS  EXCELLENCY  RAUL  GRANILLO  OCAMPO, 
ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  A 

JOINT  MEETING  OF  THE  SUBCOMMITTEES  ON 

INTERNATIONAL  SECURITY,  INTERNATIONAL 

ORGANIZATIONS  AND  HUMAN  RIGHTS  AND  ON  WESTERN 

HEMISPHERE  AFFAIRS  OP  THE  COMMITTEE  OP  FOREIGN 

AFFAIRS  OF  THE  U.S.  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  ON 


INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM  IN  BUENOS  AIRES, 
LONDON  AND  PANAMA 


WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  AUGUST  1,  1994 


41 

INTRODUCTION 

THANK  YOU  MR.  CHAIRMT^.  I  AM  HONORED  TO  BE  HERE  THIS 
MORNING  IN  RESPONSE  TO  YOUR  INVITATION  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 
OF  ARGENTINA  TO  MAKE  A  STATEMENT  ON  THE  RECENT  BOMBING  IN 
BUENOS  AIRES  OF  THE  HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARGENTINE- ISRAELI 
MUTUAL  AID  ASSOCIATION  (A.M. I. A.)  AND  THE  DELEGATION  OF 
ARGENTINE  ISRAELI  ASSOCIATIONS  (D.A.I. A.). 

MY  STATEMENT  WILL  BE  OFFERED  IN  THE  SPIRIT  OF 
INTERNATIONAL  COOPERATION  AGAINST  TERRORISM  ALREADY 
ESTABLISHED  BETWEEN  OUR  TWO  GOVERNMENTS. 

IN  A  FEW  MINUTES,  YOUR  SUBCOMMITTEES  ON  INTERNATIONAL 
SECURITY,  INTERNATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  HUMAN  RIGHTS 
AND  ON  WESTERN  HEMISPHERE  AFFAIRS  WILL  CONDUCT  A  JOINT- 
HEARING  TO  EXAMINE  RECENT  INTERNATIONAL  TERRORIST  ATTACKS 
ON  ISRAELI  AND  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  AROUND  THE  WORLD, 
INCLUDING  THE  ONE  CARRIED  OUT  EXACTLY  A  FORTNIGHT  AGO  IN 
ARGENTINA. 

YOUR  WITNESSES'  COMMENTS  AND  YOUR  SUBCOMMITTEES'  REPORTS 
WILL   BE   OF   GREAT   INTEREST   TO   MY   GOVERNMENT   AND   ALSO 


42 

UNDERLINE   THE   TRULY   INTERNATIONAL   RESPONSE   TERRORISTS 
WILL  CONFRONT  IN   THEIR  CRIMINAL  ACTS. 

THE  PACTS 


REGARDING  WHAT  OCCURRED  IN  ARGENTINA  AND  HOW  IT  MIGHT 
RELATE  TO  OTHER  SIMILAR  ATTACKS,  LET  ME  FIRST  RECALL  THAT 
ON  MONDAY,  JULY  18TH,  AT  09:57  A.M.  BUENOS  AIRES,  CAPITAL 
AND  MAJOR  CITY  OF  ARGENTINA,  WAS  STRUCK  BY  INTERNATIONAL 
TERRORISM. 

THE  A. M.I. A. /D.A.I. A.  BOMBING  HAS  BEEN  CONSIDERED  THE 
MOST  IMPORTANT  TERRORIST  INCIDENT  IN  ARGENTINE  HISTORY 
AND  THE  MOST  SERIOUS  ATTACK  ON  A  JEWISH  COMMUNITY 
ANYWHERE  IN  THE  WORLD  SINCE  WORLD  WAR  II,  LEAVING  82 
PEOPLE  DEAD,  227  INJURED  AND  15  MISSING.  AMONGST  THEM  WE 
COUNT  THE  POLICE  DETACHMENT  ON  DUTY  AT  THE  BUILDING. 

THIS  ACT  OF  VIOLENCE  ALSO  DESTROYED  A. M.I. A. 'S 
TRADITIONAL  SEVEN- STORY  BUILDING  AND  THE  MANY  DOCUMENTS 
IT  CONTAINED  BEARING  TESTIMONY  TO  MORE  THAN  A  CENTURY  OF 


43 

JEWISH  LIFE  IN  ARGENTINA.  IT  ALSO  SERIOUSLY  DAMAGED  THE 
NEIGHBORHOOD. 

INITIAL  EVALUATIONS  INDICATE  THAT  A  VAN  CARRYING  A 
DIRECTIONAL  CHARGE  HIT  THE  FRONT  OF  THE  CONCRETE  AND 
BRICK  BUILDING.  AS  IT  COLLAPSED,  THE  REST  OF  THE 
STRUCTURE  FELL  WITH  IT.  THE  FACT  THAT  THE  FOUNDATIONS 
REMAINED  IN  PLACE  PROVES  THAT  THE  EXPLOSION  CAME  FROM 
OUTSIDE  THE  BUILDING. 

THE  EXACT  SIZE  OF  THE  CHARGE  IS  DIFFICULT  TO  DETERMINE. 
EVEN  A  RELATIVELY  SMALL  ONE  WOULD  HAVE  CAUSED  THE 
BUILDING  TO  FALL.  HOWEVER,  EVALUATION  OF  COLLATERAL 
DAMAGE  HAS  ALLOWED  EXPERTS  TO  DETERMINE  THAT  NO  LESS  THAN 
660  POUNDS  OF  EXPLOSIVES  WERE  USED.  DAMAGE  TO  ADJACENT 
BUILDINGS  CONFIRMED  THIS,  JUST  AS  THE  SHRAPNEL  DISPERSAL 
PATTERN  CONFIRMED  THE  USE  OF  A  CAR -BOMB. 

THIS  WAS  THE  SECOND  SUCH  BOMBING  ATTACK  IN  ARGENTINA.  AT 
02:40  P.M.,  ON  MARCH  17,  1992,  THE  ISRAELI  EMBASSY  IN 
BUENOS  AIRES  WAS  DESTROYED.  ALTHOUGH  ONE  WAS  DIRECTED 
AGAINST  THE  MISSION  OF  A  FOREIGN  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  OTHER 


44 

AGAINST  AN  ARGENTINE  INSTITUTION,  BOTH  BOMBINGS  WERE  MOST 
PROBABLY  INSPIRED  BY  POLITICAL  MOTIVATIONS  ORIGINATED  IN 
THE  MIDDLE  EAST. 

THE  EMBASSY  BUILDING  COLLAPSED,  BURYING  DIPLOMATIC 
PERSONNEL  AND  VISITORS  INSIDE  THE  PREMISES  AND  LEAVING, 
AT  FINAL  COUNT,  2  8  DEAD  AND  2  52  INJURED. 

A  CAR-BOMB   WITH  AN  ESTIMATED  1,320  POUNDS  OF  EXPLOSIVES 
WAS   USED.   THE   PICK-UP  TRUCK'S  WRECKAGE  WAS   CRUCIAL   IN 
CONTRIBUTING  TO  THE  EARLY  STAGES  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 

FROM   LEBANON,    THE   HEZBOLLAH    TERRORIST   ORGANIZATION 
CLAIMED   RESPONSIBILITY   FOR   THIS   BOMBING,   OFFERING   AS 
PROOF  OF  ITS  INVOLVEMENT  AN  INTELLIGENCE   VIDEO  I  T  H  AD 
MADE  OF  THE  EMBASSY  PRIOR  TO  THE  ATTACK. 

INTERNATIONAL  COOPERATION  WAS  IMMEDIATELY  ESTABLISHED  FOR 
THE  INVESTIGATION  OF  THE  EMBASSY  BOMBING.  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  ISRAEL  WERE  PARTICULARLY  ACTIVE  IN  THIS 
RESPECT.  NEVERTHELESS,  OUR  JOINT  INVESTIGATIVE  EFFORTS 
HAVE    YET    TO    PRODUCE    FINAL    RESULTS.     ACTUALLY, 


45 

I^^^ERNATIONAL  EXPERIENCE  SHOWS  THAT  FINDING  THOSE 
RESPONSIBLE  FOR  TERRORIST  ACTIONS  IS  NOT  A  QUICK  OR  EASY 
MATTER . 


FOR  EXAMPLE,  THE  DECEMBER  1988  PAN-AM  FLIGHT  103  TRAGEDY 
OVER  LOCKERBIE  WAS  ONLY  RESOLVED  TOWARD  THE  END  OF  1991. 
A  SIMILAR  PERIOD  WAS  REQUIRED  IN  THE  CASE  OF  THE  FRENCH 
U.T.A.  DC- 10  BOMBING  OF  19  89  WHICH  WAS  NOT  ATTRIBUTED  TO 
LIBYANS  UNTIL  1991.  TERRORIST  ATTEMPTS  IN  FRANCE  DURING 
1985-1986  WERE  FINALLY  FOUND  IN  1990  TO  BE  THE 
RESPONSIBILITY  OF  SHIITE  FUNDAMENTALISTS.  IN  OTHER  CASES, 
IT  PROVED  IMPOSSIBLE  TO  IDENTIFY  THOSE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR 
TERRORIST  ACTS  DESPITE  INTENSE  INVESTIGATIVE  EFFORTS. 

DESPITE  THE  DELAYS,  OUR  RESOLVE  TO  INVESTIGATE  THESE 
CRIMINAL  ACTS  AND  DISCOVER  THOSE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR  THEM 
WILL  NOT  DIMINISH. 


46 

THE  AFTERMATH 

THE  A.M. I. A.  BUILDING  HAD  BEEN  A  POINT  OF  REFERENCE  FOR 
GENERATIONS  OF  ARGENTINES  WHO  VALUED  THE  ROLE  PLAYED  BY 
JEWS  IN  OUR  HISTORY  AND  IN  FORMING  OUR  WAY  OF  LIFE. 

THE  JEWISH  COMMUNITY  IS  AN  INTEGRAL  PART  OF  OUR  NATION  OF 
IMMIGRANTS,  WHERE  PEOPLE  OF  DIFFERENT  ORIGINS  SHARE 
SIMILAR  VALUES  AND  COMMON  GOALS.  THUS,  THE  A.M. I. A. 
BOMBING  AROUSED  DEEP  FEELINGS  OF  SORROW  AND  ANGER  IN 
ARGENTINA.  INDIGNATION  MOUNTED  AS  MEDIA  REPORTS  BROUGHT 
HOME  ITS  MAGNITUDE. 

MY  GOVERNMENT  IMMEDIATELY  AND  STRONGLY  CONDEMNED  THIS 
CRIMINAL  ACT,  AND  CONSIDERED  IT  AN  AFFRONT  TO  THE  NATION, 
THE  JEWISH  COMMUNITY  AND  CIVILIZED  SOCIETY  AS  A  WHOLE. 
THREE  NATIONAL  DAYS  OF  MOURNING  WERE  FOLLOWED  BY  A  JOINT 
MEETING  OF  CONGRESS  TO  WHICH  ALL  POLITICAL  PARTIES, 
SEVERAL  NATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS  AND  JEWISH  ORGANIZATIONS 
WERE  INVITED. 


47 

CONGRESSIONAL  COMMITTEES  IN  ARGENTINA  ARE  HOLDING 
HEARINGS  TO  ACHIEVE  INSIGHT  ON  THE  MATTER.  LAST  WEEK,  THE 
FOREIGN  MINISTER  EXPLAINED  THE  SITUATION  FROM  THE  FOREIGN 
POLICY  POINT  OF  VIEW.  THE  MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR  IS 
EXPECTED  TO  APPEAR  BEFORE  THEM  IN  THE  NEXT  FEW  DAYS. 

AT  A  MORE  POPULAR  LEVEL,  I  CAN  THINK  OF  NO  BETTER 
EXPRESSION  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT  TOWARDS  THE  BOMBING  THAN 
THE  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  THOUSAND  PEOPLE  WHO  GATHERED  ON 
THE  STREETS  OF  BUENOS  AIRES  IN  A  MASS  DEMONSTRATION  TO 
CONDEMN  THE  ATTACK. 


ARGENTINB  REACTION 

MY  GOVERNMENT  HAS  REACTED  VIGOROUSLY  IN  PURSUIT  OF  THOSE 
RESPONSIBLE   AND   IN   RELIEF   OF   THE   VICTIMS   AND   THEIR 

FAMILIES. 

BORDERS  WERE  ORDERED  CLOSED  BY  THE  PRESIDENT  ON  THE  DAY 
OF  THE  BOMBING.  REINFORCED  IMMIGRATION  CONTROLS  ALLOWED 
CERTAIN  INDIVIDUALS  TO  BE  DETAINED. 


48 

SINCE  THE  ATTACK,  ROUTINE  POLICE  PROTECTION  TO  JEWISH 
SCHOOLS,  SYNAGOGUES  AND  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS  HAS  BEEN 
SIGNIFICANTLY  INCREASED. 

FEDERAL  JUDGE  JUAN  JOSE  GALEANO  IS  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE 
CRIMINAL  INVESTIGATION,  AND  HAS  BEEN  WORKING  WITH  THE 
ADMINISTRATION  AND  SECURITY  FORCES  TO  CAPTURE  THOSE 
RESPONSIBLE.  IN  THE  CONTEXT  OF  HIS  INVESTIGATION,  JUDGE 
GALEANO  TRAVELED  TO  VENEZUELA  TO  RECEIVE  STATEMENTS  FROM 
AN  IRANIAN  CITIZEN  WHO  WAS  SAID  TO  POSSES  INFORMATION. 

IN  THE  DIPLOMATIC  FIELD,  AND  IN  ORDER  TO  RECEIVE  FIRST- 
HAND REPORTS,  OUR  AMBASSADORS  IN  BEIRUT  AND  TEHERAN  HAVE 
BEEN  CALLED  TO  BUENOS  AIRES.  WE  HAVE  ALSO  REQUESTED 
INFORMATION  FROM  THE  LEBANESE  AND  IRANIAN  GOVERNMENTS 
REGARDING  HEZBOLLAH  SPONSORED  ORGANIZATIONS  THAT  CAN  BE 
FOUND  IN  THOSE  COUNTRIES.  MORE  SPECIFICALLY,  THE  IRANIAN 
AMBASSADOR  IN  ARGENTINA  HAS  BEEN  CALLED  SEVERAL  TIMES  IN 
THE  LAST  FEW  DAYS  TO  MEET  WITH  FOREIGN  MINISTRY 
OFFICIALS. 


49 

A  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  HAS  ALSO  BEEN  ESTABLISHED,  LINKING 
THE  POLICE  WITH  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  IN  ORDER  TO  MAINTAIN 
PERMANENT  CONTACT  WITH  THEM  AND  WITH  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD 
DAMAGED  BY  THE  BOMB. 

GOVERNMENT  OFFICIALS  HAVE  MADE  THEMSELVES  AVAILABLE  TO 
ISRAELI  ENVOYS  AND  ARGENTINE  AND  FOREIGN  JEWISH 
ORGANIZATIONS,  WHOSE  REPRESENTATIVES  WENT  TO  BUENOS  AIRES 
TO  OFFER  SUPPORT  AND  GATHER  INFORMATION.  MEETINGS  WITH 
THE  PRESIDENT  AND  MEMBERS  OF  HIS  CABINET  TOOK  PLACE  IN 
THIS  CONTEXT. 

DURING  THEIR  MEETINGS,  PRESIDENT  MENEM  RECALLED  HIS 
STATEMENTS  ON  THE  ATTACK,  THE  OPENNESS  AND  SOLIDARITY  OF 
THE  ARGENTINE  PEOPLE  AND  HIS  OWN  DETERMINATION  TO 
IDENTIFY  AND  PUNISH  THOSE  RESPONSIBLE.  HE  ALSO  ANNOUNCED 
THAT  FINANCIAL  ASSISTANCE  WILL  BE  EXTENDED  TO  THE 
FAMILIES  OF  THE  VICTIMS  AND  THAT  A  REQUEST  FOR  AID  IN 
REBUILDING  THE  A. M. I . A. /D . A . I . A.  HEADQUARTERS  WOULD 
RECEIVE  FAVORABLE  CONSIDERATION. 


50 

HERE,  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  MY  EMBASSY  AND  ALL  OUR 
CONSULATES  HAVE  BEEN  IN  CONSTANT  CONTACT  WITH  THE  MANY 
INDIVIDUALS  AND  AMERICAN  JEWISH  ORGANIZATIONS  THAT  CAME 
FORWARD  AT  THIS  MOMENT. 


ANTI-SEMITISM 

NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  GENERALIZED  CONVICTION  THAT  THE 
MOTIVES  AND  INSPIRATION  FOR  THE  BOMBING  ARE  RELATED  TO 
THE  MIDDLE  EAST,  REPUTED  EXISTENCE  OF  ANTI-SEMITISM  IN 
ARGENTINA  HAS  BEEN  MENTIONED  IN  ITS  REGARD.  IF  ANYTHING, 
THE  BOMBING  HAS  INSPIRED  ARGENTINA  TO  CLOSE  RANKS  ONCE 
AGAIN  WITH  ITS  JEWISH  COMMUNITY. 

IN  FACT,  A  SURVEY  CONDUCTED  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  JEWISH 
COMMITTEE  AND  THE  DELEGATION  OF  ARGENTINE  ISRAELI 
ASSOCIATIONS^  SHOWS  A  CONSIDERABLE  TENDENCY  TOWARDS 
ETHNIC,  RELIGIOUS,  AND  CULTURAL  PLURALISM  IN  ARGENTINE 
SOCIETY.  IT  ALSO  INDICATES  THAT,  ON  THE  WHOLE,  THERE  IS  A 
POSITIVE    ORIENTATION    TOWARD    JEWS    AND    SIGNIFICANT 


■  ATTITI;D[iS  TOWARDS  JEWS  IN  ARGENTINA  A  PUBLIC  OPINION  SURVEY 
CONDUCTF.D  OR  HIE  AMERICAN  JEWISH  COMVflTTEE  .^lND  DELEGACION  DE 
AS(X  IA(  lONI-.S  ISRAtLITAS  ARGENTINAS  NOVEMBER  12-DECEMBER  3.  1992. 


51 

TOLERANCE  IN  ACCEPTING  THE  VARIOUS  ETHNIC  AND  RELIGIOUS 
GROUPS  THAT  MAKE  UP  THE  COUNTRY.  IT  DEMONSTRATES  FURTHER 
THAT  MARKEDLY  DISCRIMINATORY  ATTITUDES  TOWARD  JEWS  AND 
OTHERS  ARE  NOT  FOUND  IN  THE  AREAS  OF  SOCIAL  AND  FAMILIAL 
INTERACTION.  IT  ALSO  SHOWS  THAT  69%  OF  ARGENTINES  POLLED 
PREFERRED  TO  LIVE  IN  A  MULTIRACIAL,  CULTURALLY  DIVERSE 
AND  RELIGIOUSLY  FREE  SOCIETY. 


RULE  OF  LAW 

TO  THOSE  WHO  SUGGESTED  THAT  AN  APPROPRIATE  RESPONSE  TO 
TERRORISM  CAN  BE  FOUND  IN  SETTING  ASIDE  THE  LAW,  I  MUST 
ANSWER  EMPHATICALLY  THAT  OUR  RECENT  HISTORY  HAS  SHOWN  US, 
IN  AN  UNFORTUNATE  WAY,  THAT  VIOLENCE  ONLY  GENERATES  MORE 
VIOLENCE. 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  DEMOCRACY  IN  ARGENTINA  OVER  A  DECADE 
AGO  ALSO  BROUGHT  ABOUT  THE  REPLACEMENT  OF  A  REPRESSIVE 
SECURITY  APPARATUS  BY  AN  INTELLIGENCE  COMMUNITY  IMBUED 
WITH  THE  CONCEPT  OF  THE  RULE  OF  LAW. 


52 

COUNTRIES  SUCH  AS  MINE,  WHICH  ENJOY  DEMOCRATIC 
INSTITUTIONS  AND  GOVERNMENTS  CONCERNED  WITH  THE  WELL- 
BEING  OF  THEIR  PEOPLE,  WILL  CONTINUE  TO  RESPECT  LEGAL 
PROCEDURES  IN  THEIR  PERSECUTION  OF  VIOLENT  TERRORIST 
ACTS. 

MY  GOVERNMENT  IS  COMMITTED  TO  SECURING  ITS  PEOPLE'S 
DESIRE  TO  PRESERVE  FREEDOM,  TOLERANCE  AND  DEMOCRACY.  AT 
THE  SAME  TIME  IT  WILL  NOT  REST  UNTIL  THOSE  RESPONSIBLE 
FOR  THE  BOMBINGS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO  JUSTICE. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONNECTIONS 

THE  DAY  FOLLOWING  THE  ATTACK  IN  ARGENTINA,  A  PLANE 
CARRYING  NUMEROUS  JEWISH  PASSENGERS  BLEW  UP  IN  FLIGHT 
OVER  PANAMA.  A  FEW  DAYS  LATER,  BOMBS  DESTROYED  THE 
ISRAELI  EMBASSY  IN  LONDON  AND  WERE  SET  OFF  IN  FRONT  OF  A 
BUILDING  HOUSING  BRITISH  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS. 

DURING  HIS  RECENT  VISIT  TO  WASHINGTON,  THE  PRIME  MINISTER 
OF  ISRAEL,  YITZHAK  RABIN,  SAID  IN  A  WHITE  HOUSE  NEWS 
CONFERENCE   THAT   IT   WAS    REASONABLE   TO   ASSUME   THAT 


53 

TERRORIST  BOMBINGS  OF  JEWISH  TARGETS  IN  BUENOS  AIRES  AND 
LONDON  WERE  THE  WORK  OF  MUSLIM  EXTREMISTS.  IN  ANOTHER 
INTERVIEW,  HE  ADDED  THAT  ISLAMIC  TERRORIST  MOVEMENTS  ARE 
DETERMINED  TO  IMDERMINE  THE  ARAB- ISRAELI  PEACE  PROCESS. 
HE  ADDED  THAT  THE  WORLD  WAS  FACING  A  WAVE  OF  EXTREME 
ISLAMIC  RADICAL  TERRORIST  MOVEMENTS  WITH  INFRASTRUCTURE 
ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD. 

KING  HUSSEIN  OF  JORDAN  ALSO  DENOUNCED  THE  PEOPLE  BEHIND 
THESE  ATTACKS,  CALLING  THEM  ENEMIES  OF  HOPE,  ENEMIES  OF 
WHAT  SHOULD  BE  NORMAL  AMONG  PEOPLE. 

A  MEMBER  OF  THE  ISRAELI  PARLIAMENT  CONSIDERED  THAT  THE 
ATTACK  AGAINST  A. M.I. A. /D.A.I. A.  WAS  APPARENTLY  A 
RETALIATION  FOR  ISRAEL'S  BOMBING  OF  A  HEZBOLLAH  TRAINING 
BASE,  LAST  JUNE  2,  AND  ITS  KIDNAPPING  OF  A  SHIITE-MUSLIM 
LEADER  IN  LEBANON,  ON  MAY  21. 

BOTH  MR.  RABIN  AND  MR.  ARAFAT  HAVE  SEPARATELY  MENTIONED 
THAT   THE   LEBANESE   HEZBOLLAH   IS   BEHIND   THE   A.M. I. A.   / 

D.A.I. A.  BOMBING. 


54 

MY  COUNTRY'S  RENEWED  PARTICIPATION  IN  MULTILATERAL 
EFFORTS  TO  RESPOND  TO  SITUATIONS  THAT  THREATEN 
INTERNATIONAL  PEACE  AND  SECURITY  HAS  BEEN  PERCEIVED  AS 
EXPOSING  IT  TO  A  HIGHER  LEVEL  OF  TERRORIST  AGGRESSION. 
HOWEVER  OUR  FOREIGN  POLICY  WILL  NOT  BE  ALTERED. 
ARGENTINA,  WILL  CONTINUE  TO  BE  POSITIVELY  INVOLVED  IN 
WORLD  AFFAIRS  AND  UNITED  NATIONS  PEACE -KEEPING 
OPERATIONS. 

INTERNATIONAL  COOPERATION 

MY  GOVERNMENT  CONSIDERS  THAT  THE  WORLD  IS  NOW 
ENCOUNTERING  A  NEW  DIMENSION  OF  TERRORISM  WITH  INCREASED 
LEVELS  OF  SOPHISTICATION,  AND  THAT  OUR  ABILITY  TO 
ANTICIPATE  ITS  ATTACKS  MUST  BE  ENHANCED. 

IN  ORDER  TO  BETTER  DEAL  WITH  THE  INTERNATIONAL  DIMENSION 
OF  TERRORISM,  ARGENTINE  INTELLIGENCE  AGENCIES  HAVE 
INCREASED  COOPERATION  WITH  THOSE  OF  OTHER  FRIENDLY 
NATIONS. 


55 

LET  ME  TAKE  A  MOMENT  TO  RECALL  THAT  IN  1983  THE  U.S. 
CONGRESS  AUTHORIZED  THE  ANT I -TERRORISM  ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM,  A  MAJOR  INITIATIVE  TO  FIGHT  INTERNATIONAL 
TERRORISM.  AMERICAN  ASSISTANCE  HAS  SINCE  BEEN  EXTENDED 
TO  ARGENTINA  FOR  THE  TRAINING  OF  GOVERNMENT  LAW 
ENFORCEMENT  OFFICERS. 

IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THE  BOMBING,  WE  RECEIVED  FURTHER  OFFERS 
OF  COOPERATION  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT,  WHICH  I 
WAS  INSTRUCTED  TO  ACCEPT.  TECHNICAL  DETAILS  OF  THIS  OFFER 
HAVE  BEEN  WORKED  OUT  DIRECTLY  BETWEEN  THE  ARGENTINE  AND 
AMERICAN  AGENCIES  INVOLVED. 

ADDITIONALLY,  TWENTY- FOUR  HOURS  AFTER  THE  EXPLOSION,  A 
SPECIALIZED  ISRAELI  RESCUE  TEAM  ARRIVED  IN  BUENOS  AIRES 
TO  HELP  IN  THE  SEARCH  FOR  SURVIVORS .  FURTHER  COOPERATION 
BETWEEN  THE  INTELLIGENCE  AGENCIES  OF  ARGENTINA,  ISRAEL, 
THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  OTHER  NATIONS  WAS  ALSO  QUICKLY 
ESTABLISHED. 


56 

THUS,  RESULTS  FROM  THE  INVESTIGATION  WILL  ALSO  COME  FROM 
AN  INTERNATIONAL  EFFORT  THAT  IS  CONTRIBUTING  TO  BUILD 
THE  ARGENTINE  PROSECUTORS'  CASE. 


DIPLOMATIC  ACTION 


AFTER  THE  BOMBING,  MANY  NATIONS  CAME  FORWARD  WITH 
STATEMENTS   REJECTING   THE   CRUEL   ATTACK   AGAINST   THE 

A.M. I. A. /D.A.I. A.  BUILDING. 

PRESIDENT  CLINTON  WAS  AMONG  THE  FIRST  TO  REACT.  HE  CALLED 
IT  COWARDLY  AND  SAID  THAT  THIS  TERRIBLE  LOSS  OF 
INNOCENT  LIVES  MUST  NOT  DETER  CIVILIZED  SOCIETY  FROM 
OPPOSING  THE  ENEMIES  OF  PEACE. 

RESPONDING  TO  AN  ARGENTINE  REQUEST  FOR  AN  EXTRAORDINARY 
MEETING,  THE  PERM7VNENT  COUNCIL  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF 
AMERICAN  STATES  ISSUED  A  DECLARATION  ON  JULY  19  STATING 
ITS  STRONGEST  CONDEMNATION  {OF  THIS)  ATTACK  ON  THE  JEWISH 
COMMUNITY  IN  ARGENTINA  (WHICH)  IS  ALSO  AN  AFFRONT  TO  THE 
ENTIRE  NATION  AND  THE  CONSCIENCES  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE 
AMERICAS. 


57 

ARGENTINA  ALSO  REQUESTED  AND  OBTAINED  A  MEETING  OF  THE 
U.N.  SECURITY  COUNCIL  IN  ORDER  TO  REPORT  ON  THE 
SITUATION.  LAST  FRIDAY,  JULY  29,  OUR  FOREIGN  MINISTER 
WENT  TO  THE  U.N.  TO  DESCRIBE  THE  ATTACK  AND  MAKE  SPECIFIC 
PROPOSALS  REGARDING  THE  SCOPE  OF  DIPLOMATIC  IMMUNITY  AND 
THE  NEED  FOR  U.N.  SECURITY  COUNCIL  CONSIDERATION  OF 
CONCRETE  MEASURES  TO  COUNTER  INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM. 

HE  ALSO  STATED  THAT  ALTHOUGH  WE  PRESUME  THAT  IT  RECEIVED 
SUPPORT  FROM  MARGINAL  GROUPS  WITHIN  ARGENTINA,  THE  ORIGIN 
OF  AND  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE  BOMBING  IS  TO  BE  FOUND 
BEYOND  ARGENTINA'S  BORDERS. 

WITH  REGARDS  TO  THE  ISRAELI  EMBASSY  BOMBING  OF  1992,  THE 
FOREIGN  MINISTER  RECALLED  THAT  ON  MAY  28,  THE  SPIRITUAL 
LEADER  OF  HEZBOLLAH  DECLARED  THAT  MUSLIM  FIGHTERS  HAVE 
REACHED  ARGENTINA  AND  THAT,  THEREFORE,  WE  CANNOT  EXCLUDE 
THAT  THIS  ORGANIZATION  IS  ALSO  BEHIND  THE 
A.M. I.A. /D.A.I. A.  BOMBING.  FINALLY  HE  ADDED  THAT, 
ALTHOUGH  WE  ALL  KNOW  WHO  THEY  ARE,  WE  CANNOT  YET 
OFFICIALLY  AFFIRM  THAT  OTHER  COUNTRIES  ARE  BEHIND  THE 
BOMBING. 


58 

THE  PRESENTATION  OF  THE  ARGENTINE  FOREIGN  MINISTER  TO  THE 
U.N.  SECURITY  COUNCIL  WAS  BASED  ON  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY'S 
RESOLUTION  44/122  OF  DECEMBER  12,  1994,  WHICH  CONDEMNS 
TERRORISM  AND  ITS  METHODS,  AND  URGES  THE  INTERNATIONAL 
COMMUNITY  TO  COOPERATE  IN  THE  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  THE  THREAT 
OF  NATIONAL,  REGIONAL  AND  INTERNATIONAL  TERRORISM. 

ON  THE  AFTERNOON  OF  THE  SAME  DAY,  AND  ALSO  AT  ARGENTINA'S 
REQUEST,  A  SECOND  EXTRAORDINARY  MEETING  OF  THE  O.A.S.' 
PERMANENT  COUNCIL  HEARD  A  FURTHER  STATEMENT  BY  THE 
ARGENTINE  FOREIGN  MINISTER.  IN  IT,  HE  URGED  THE  O.A.S. 
AND  ITS  MEMBERS  TO  UNDERTAKE  CONCERTED  ACTIONS  AGAINST 
TERRORISM. 

AFTER  DEBATING,  THE  PERMANENT  COUNCIL  OF  THE  O.A.S. 
ISSUED  A  DECLARATION  EXPRESSING  ITS  APPRECIATION  FOR 
ADDITIONAL  INFORMATION  PROVIDED  BY  THE  FOREIGN  MINISTER 
ON  THE  BOMBING  AND  ON  INVESTIGATIVE  EFFORTS  TO  CLARIFY 
THIS  ATROCITY.  AT  THE  SAME  TIME,  THE  PERMANENT  COUNCIL 
REITERATED  ITS   DECLARATION  OF  JULY  19. 


59 

MR.  CHAIRM?SlN: 

TODAY  WE  ARE  WAGING  A  WAR  AGAINST  IRRATIONAL  VIOLENCE. 
THIS  STRUGGLE  IS  NOT  BETWEEN  ARGENTINA  AND  SOME  TERRORIST 
GROUP,  BUT  BETWEEN  THE  INTERNATIONAL  COMMUNITY  AND 
WORLDWIDE  TERRORISM;  BETWEEN  THOSE  WHO  LOVE  PEACE  AND 
THOSE  WHO  PURSUE  SPURIOUS  OBJECTIVES  WITHOUT  REGARD  TO 
THE  COST  IN  HUMAN  LIVES.  WE  MUST  COME  TOGETHER  TO  FIGHT 
THIS  COMMON  ENEMY. 

THEREFORE,  I  WISH  TO  TAKE  THIS  OPPORTUNITY  TO  CALL  UPON 
YOUR  SUBCOMMITTEES  TO  CONTINUE  THEIR  WORK  IN  THIS  REGARD. 
I  WOULD  ALSO  LIKE  TO  SUGGEST  THAT  THE  U.S.  CONGRESS 
EXTEND  ITS  SUPPORT  TO  INITIATIVES  DIRECTED  TOWARDS  THE 
ENHANCEMENT  OF  INTERNATIONAL  COOPERATION  IN  THE  STRUGGLE 
AGAINST  TERRORISM. 


60 


statement  of  Steven  Emerson 

August  1,  1994 

U.S.  House  of  Representatives 

Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs 


I  think  it  is  especially  appropriate  that  you  are  holding  this 
hearing  today  regarding  the  bombings  in  Argentina  and  Great 
Britain.  The  American  public  needs  to  understand  that  although 
the  bombings  took  place  thousands  of  miles  away  and  victims  were 
foreigners,  the  next  time  we  could  be  the  target.  Although  the 
media  has  devoted  far  less  attention  to  this  carnage  than  it  did 
to  similar  acts  of  religious  fanatical  violence  earlier  this 
year  in  the  Middle  East,  the  attacks  in  Argentina  and  London 
were  no  less  horrific. 

I  believe  American  public  policymakers  must  begin  to  understand 
the  depth  of  a  new  problem  now  facing  the  world.  The  bombings 
were  not  simply  an  "attempt  by  the  enemies  of  peace  to  derail  the 
peace  process"  as  several  senior  U.S.  officials  described  the 
attack  in  Argentina.  Nor  were  they  simply  the  "return  of  Middle 
Eastern  terrorism"  as  a  senior  British  law  enforcement  official 
described  the  London  bombings. 

Rather,  the  bombings  are  part  of  an  escalating  world  wide 
battle  between  radical  Islamic  militants  and  the  West.  The  perpe- 
trators of  these  bombings  are  not  motivated  by  what  is  known  as 
"legitimate  grievances." 

Radical  Islamic  militants  see  the  very  existence  of  pro-Western 
nations,  such  as  Israel  and  Egypt,  or  pluralistic  systems  such  as 


61 


democracy,  or  rival  religions  such  as  Judaism  and  Christianity 
and  even  moderate  Muslims  as  a  mortal  threat  to  their  very  being. 
These  militants  see  the  continuation  of  a  thousand-year  conspira- 
cy waged  by  the  infidel  to  subjugate  Islam.  In  this  perspective, 
the  West's  publication  of  Salman  Rushdie's  book  and  the  1991 
Persian  Gulf  War  are  simply  extensions  of  the  Crusader's  assault 
on  Islam. 

The  terrorism  in  the  1970 ' s--largely  attributable  to  Pales- 
tinian organizations--ultimately  dissipated  because  the  secular 
PLO  compromised  its  maximalist  goals  to  destroy  Israel.  Today, 
Yasser  Arafat  is  either  unwilling  or  unable  to  stop  other  Pales- 
tinian terrorists,  but  at  least  he  has  put  an  end  to  most  Fatah 
terrorism.  Clearly,  a  Middle  East  peace  agreement  can  stop  some 
types  of  terror. 

But  radical  Islamic  militants  are  not  susceptible  to  the  same 
rational  persuasion.  They  see  any  accord  that  accepts  the  legit- 
imacy of  a  Jewish  state  or  the  existence  of  pro-American  regimes 
in  Egypt  or  Jordan  as  intrinsically  offensive.  To  these  groups, 
there  can  be  no  compromise;  it  is  a  duel  to  the  death  with  infi- 
dels and  heretics.  The  war  is  without  borders.  Unlike  the  peace- 
ful version  of  Jihad,  these  militants  see  and  practice  Jihad  only 
as  a  holy  war.  Becoming  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  Jihad  is  just 
as  good  as  killing  in  the  cause  of  Jihad.  In  this  new  clash 
between  militant  Islam  and  its  enemies,  political  reconciliation 
is  inherently  impossible. 

In  Europe,  Hizbullah- Iran  assassination  squads  have  murdered 
scores  of  dissidents.  In  Thailand,  the  Israeli  Embassy  narrowly 


62 


missed  being  blown  up  this  year  by  a  car  bomb  made  up  of  the  same 
type  of  explosives  that  blew  up  the  World  Trade  Center.  In  Ban- 
gladesh, a  female  writer  has  been  driven  into  hiding,  the  subject 
of  a  religious  death  sentence  for  her  writings  perceived  to  be 
critical  of  the  Qur'an.  In  Canada,  several  radical  Islamic  ter- 
ror ists--including  a  member  of  Hizbullah  and  a  member  of  the 
black  Muslim  Al-Fuqra  group--have  been  recently  convicted  for 
carrying  out  acts  of  terror.  In  Chicago  earlier  this  year,  sever- 
al Jewish  schools  and  institutions  were  torched  by  Palestinian 
youths,  who  were  part  of  a  larger  Hamas  community. 

Despite  attempts  by  some  to  paper  over  the  differences  be- 
tween radical  Islam  and  the  West,  the  fact  remains  that  radical 
Islamic  leaders  see  the  West  as  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to  wipe 
out  Islam.  In  this  context,  Israel  is  the  Little  Satan  and  the 
United  States  is  the  Great  Satan.  Attacks  on  targets  like  the 
World  Trade  Center  last  year  or  in  Buenos  Aires  two  weeks  ago  are 
just  if ied--indeed  mandated--as  part  of  the  holy  war  against  the 
infidels.  For  those  perpetrating  such  attacks,  they  may  indeed  be 
motivated  by  distinct  events--such  as  retaliation  for  specific 
acts--but  the  large  local  support  network  needed  to  carry  out 
such  terrorism  could  only  arise  because  of  the  widespread  accept- 
ance of  radical  anti-western  precepts. 

At  the  outset,  it  is  important  to  point  out  that  the  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  nearly  one  billion  Muslims  in  the  world 
today  do  not  support  such  concepts  of  jihad  or  violence.  Those 


63 

that  support  violence  are  only  a  very  small  minority  and  totally 
unrepresentative  of  the  larger  community.  And  as  King  Hussein  of 
Jordan  said  the  other  day  at  a  press  conference  at  the  White 
House,  the  bombings  in  Argentina  had  nothing  to  do  with  Islam.  In 
the  theological  sense,  he  is  right.  Terrorism  has  nothing  to  do 
with  mainstream  Islam.  Islam  is  an  incredibly  rich  and  peaceful 
religion  that  has  given  the  world  a  wonderful  legacy.  But  in  the 
last  half  of  the  20th  Century,  militancy  and  violence  has  every- 
thing to  do  with  radical  Islamic  fundamentalism. 

It  would  be  the  height  of  recklessness  and  naivete  to  deny 
that  which  has  become  a  reality:  In  recent  years,  radical  Islamic 
movements,  for  a  variety  of  reasons,  have  proliferated  not  just 
throughout  the  Middle  East  but  globally.  These  radical  extremists 
have  been  able  to  set  up  a  vast  international  network  of  support- 
ers throughout  the  world,  especially  in  the  West,  where  they  have 
amassed  money  and  weapons,  established  recruitment  centers,  and 
even  established  command  and  control  facilities.  In  the  United 
States,  the  Gama ' a  Islamiya,  Hizbullah,  Hamas,  Islamic  Jihad,  to 
name  just  a  few,  have  established  elaborate  support  systems.  The 
same  goes,  in  varying  degrees,  for  Canada,  Germany,  France,  Great 
Britain,  Argentina  and  elsewhere. 

Radical  Islamic  groups  are  not  a  monolith  nor  are  they  not 
controlled  by  an  Islamic  Politburo.  Many  of  the  groups  act  inde- 
pendently of  one  another,  yet  often  collaborate  in  various  opera- 
tions as  a  means  of  carrying  out  attacks  on  their  common  enemies. 
If  there  is  one  unifying  factor  among  the  myriad  groups,  it  is 
the  common  enemy  they  confront.  Because  of  the  decentralized 


64 


structure  of  these  groups  and  their  ad  hoc  collaboration--above 
and  beyond  the  constitutional  limits  of  democracies  to  take  pre- 
ventive action--the  West  faces  serious  challenges  in  the  years 
ahead . 

Although  there  is  no  one  nation  or  organization  that  directs 
radical  Islamic  groups,  Iran  plays  a  pivotal  role.  In  giving 
birth  to  the  first  modern  Islamic  republic,  Iran  has  provided 
ideological  and  religious  sustenance  to  ideological  comrades 
around  the  world  in  its  war  with  the  Great  Satan.  As  a  microcosm 
of  the  larger  splintered  radical  Islamic  community,  Iran  is  not 
controlled  by  any  one  person,  and  thus  there  are  independent 
centers  of  authority  running  terrorist  operations. 

Yet,  despite  attempts  by  some  American  analysts  to  portray  a 
jockeying  for  power  between  "moderate"  and  "radicals,"  the  truth 
is--as  we  should  have  learned  in  the  Iran-contra  episode--there 
is  no  thing  as  a  moderate  in  the  Iranian  government.  There  are, 
however,  "pragmatists "  whom  we  confuse  as  moderates.  And  these 
pragmatists ,  like  President 

Rafsanjani,  readily  use  terror  as  an  instrument  of  foreign  policy 
whenever  it  is  deemed  convenient.  Money,  weapons,  training, 
directions,  sanctuary,  passports,  diplomatic  and  commercial 
cover--this  is  what  Iran  has  provided  to  its  network  around  the 
world- -direct ly  through  its  embassies,  export-import  companies, 
consular  offices,  and  airlines  and  indirectly  through  select 
mosques,  charitable  foundations,  and  various  Islamic  centers. 


65 


According  to  Israeli  and  American  intelligence,  there  is  very- 
little  doubt  that  Iran  was  the  major  party  behind  the  Argentinean 
bombing.  The  modus  operandi  of  the  attack  was  virtually  the  same 
one  as  that  which  blew  up  the  Israeli  embassy  in  Buenos  Aires  two 
years  ago.  That  attack,  based  on  electronic  intelligence  and 
other  intelligence  information,  showed  that  the  Iranian  officials 
had  coordinated  the  bombing  against  the  Israeli  embassy  via 
smuggling  explosives  in  its  diplomatic  pouch.  The  attack  was 
carried  out  by  a  suicide  bomber  from  a  local  branch  of  Hizbullah, 
which  has  established  a  wide  network  in  Argentina,  particularly 
in  the  "tri-border"  area. 

Beyond  the  virtual  similarity  in  the  two  explosions,  investi- 
gators on  the  ground  say  they  have  acquired  additional  evidence 
linking  Iran  and  Hizbullah  to  the  blast.  Similarly,  the  bombing 
of  the  Israeli  embassy  in  London  could  only  have  been  carried  out 
through  a  well-planned  and  coordinated  attack;  the  car  containing 
the  explosives  was  parked  adjacent  to  the  side  of  the  Israeli 
embassy  where  the  Israeli  ambassador's  office  is.  Fortunately, 
he  was  not  in  it  at  the  time;  the  bomb  obliterated  his  office. 
Although  Iran  was  almost  certainly  behind  the  bombing  in  London, 
intelligence  officials  say  that  there  is  a  strong  possibility 
that  other  terrorist  groups  collaborated  in  the  attacks. 

In  the  past  week,  Hizbullah  and  Iran  have  gone  to  extraordinary 
public  lengths  to  deny  any  involvement  in  the  bombing.  But  those 
very  denials  are  hallmarks  of  Iranian  and  Hizbullah  tactics. 
Indeed,  Iran  and  Hizbullah  had  long  publicly  denied  any  connec- 
tion to  the  Americas  held  hostage  in  Lebanon.  Iran,  Hizbullah  and 


66 


their  accomplice  Syria--despite  electronic  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary--consistently  denied  any  involvement  in  the  destruction  of 
the  Marine  compound  in  Beirut  which  killed  241  Marines,  or  the 
two  bombings  of  the  American  diplomatic  facilities  in  Beirut  in 
1983  and  1984.  Iran  also  denied  any  involvement  in  the  multiple 
attacks  and  assassinations  by  Iranian  hit  squads  in  the  past  14 
years . 

In  Lebanon,  the  5000-man  fighting  force  of  the  Hizzbollah 
(under  the  direct  supervision  of  at  least  500  Iranian  Revolution- 
ary Guards  camped  out  in  the  Bekka  Valley)  has  become  an  exten- 
sion of  Iran,  enabling  Iran  to  claim  it  has  become  a  frontline 
battle  state  with  Israel. 

Hizbullah  is  organized  in  tightly  compartraented  cells,  often 
by  village,  tribal  or  family  lines.  Not  only  does  this  make 
foreign  infiltration  virtually  impossible;  it  insures  that  culpa- 
bility is  lim.ited.  Names  of  groups  are  routinely  invented  for 
new  operations,  then  discarded  to  throw  off  the  scent  to  intelli- 
gence agencies.  During  the  1980's,  more  than  25  different  Leba- 
nese groups  were  said  to  have  been  involved  in  the  kidnapping  and 
killing  of  American  hostages.  In  truth,  all  the  groups  were 
simply  re-named  cells  operating  under  one  single  umbrella  organi- 
zation--Hizbullah. 

When  the  massive  car  bomb  obliterated  the  building  at  Pasteur 
Street  633  in  Buenos  Aires,  the  perpetrators  knew  it  was  not 
housing  their  ostensible  enemy,  the  Israelis,  whom  they  have 
confronted  in  southern  Lebanon  and  Israel  proper  for  the  past 
nine  years.  After  all,  if  Hizbullah  wanted  to  launch  a  massive 


67 


suicide  car  bomb  against  Israeli  forces,  it  could  easily  have 
done  so.  Despite  Israeli  and  South  Lebanese  Army  patrols  of  the 
South  Lebanon  security  zone,  Hizbullah  has  shown  that  it  can 
carry  out  attacks  with  virtual  impunity. 

The  decision  to  kill  as  many  innocent  Jewish  civilians  and 
residents  of  Argentina  as  possible  was  taken  in  the  same  manner 
as  was  the  decision  to  bomb  the  World  Trade  Center.  "We  can  hit 
you  on  your  turf"  in  the  very  belly  of  the  beast  was  the  message. 
And  like  the  bombing  of  the  World  Trade  Center,  Buenos  Aires  was 
also  chosen  by  radical  Islamic  militants  because  of  similar 
factors  that  made  it  easy  to  carry  out:  Radical  Islamists  have  an 
extensive  support  infrastructure  in  Argentina  and  in  neighboring 
countries.  Hizbullah  and  other  radicals  have  easy  access  in  and 
out  of  Argentina.  The  Argentinean  government  has  not  effectively 
cracked  down  on  Iranian  diplomats  who  have  set  up  surveillance 
operations  and  abused  their  diplomatic  privileges.  And  Argentina 
has  not  yet  clamped  down  on  the  embryonic  radical  neo-Nazi 
alignment  with  the  radical  Islamic  militants. 

By  selecting  Buenos  Aries  twice  in  two  years,  this  also  insured 
that  everyone  would  know  Iran  and  Hizbullah  were  behind  the 
bombing  while  still  enabling  Iran  and  Hizbullah  to  fiercely  deny 
any  connection.  Like  the  United  States,  Argentina  was  deemed  a 
special  target  of  recruitment  because  of  the  presence  of  so  many 
Muslim  immigrants.  In  the  1980 's,  Iran  intensified  its  worldwide 
outreach  program,  and  began  providing  money  and  sending  Iranian 
clerics  to  foreign  Islamic  communities.  The  significance  Buenos 


84-344  -  94  -  4 


68 


Aires  was  accorded  by  Iran  was  indicated  by  the  fact,  as  pointed 
out  by  Islamic  scholar  Khalid  Duran,  that  Iran  sent  Ayatollah 
Rabbanni--one  of  only  40  Ayatollahs--to  serve  as  the  leader  of  a 
Shiite  mosque  in  Buenos  Aires  in  the  raid-1980's.  There  have  been 
at  least  a  dozen  special  trips  by  Iranian  and  Afghan  Jihad  lead- 
ers to  Buenos  Aires  to  raise  money  and  recruit  volunteers  for 
the  jihad  in  Afghanistan  and  elsewhere.  There  were  even  organiza- 
tional links  established  to  Jihad  organizations  in  the  United 
States. 

For  the  past  decade,  Iran  has  directed  assassinations  and  car 
bombings  throughout  Europe  and  Southeast  Asia.  Although  in  some 
cases  authorities  have  prosecuted  those  found  to  be  involved,  in 
just  as  many  cases,  authorities  have  let  go  known  terrorists 
believed  to  have  been  involved  rather  than  incur  the  wrath  of 
radical  Islamic  militants  or  their  Iranian  backers. 

According  to  figures  compiled  by  European  intelligence  serv- 
ices, Iran  has  been  responsible  for  killing  or  wounding  more  than 
100  Iranian  dissidents,  foreign  nationals,  journalists  and  other 
designated  "enemies." 

To  list  just  a  handful  of  attacks: 

♦July  1991,  Tokyo:  The  Japanese  translator  of  Salman  Rushdie's 
book,  the  Satanic  Verses,  was  stabbed  to  death  in  Japan.  His 
Italian  counterpart  was  stabbed  ten  days  earlier  but  survived  the 
attack . 

♦August  1991,  Paris:  Former  Iranian  leader  Shapur  Bakhtiar,  de- 
spite being  under  heavy  French  guard  24  hours  a  day  in  a  safe- 


69 


house  outside  Paris,  had  his  throat  slit.  His  perpetrators  were 
Iranians,  although  French  intelligence  soon  determined  that 
indigenous  Islamic  militants  provided  surveillance  and  helped 
carry  out  the  operation. 

♦September  1992,  Berlin,  Germany:  In  the  backroom  of  a  restaurant 
called  Mykonos,  two  gunmen  suddenly  burst  in  and  sprayed  the 
eight  men  having  dinner.  The  guests  were  senior  officials  of  the 
Democratic  Party  of  Iranian  Kurdistan.  Four  of  them  died  on  the 
spot.  Shortly  thereafter,  German  authorities  arrested  two  Leba- 
nese Hizbullah  operatives  who  had  been  directly  recruited  to 
carry  out  this  carnage.  German  authorities  subsequently  learned 
that  an  Iranian  cleric  named  Kazem  Darabi,  who  had  been  living  in 
Germany  for  several  years,  had  provided  the  weapons,  money  and 
safehouses  for  the  killer.  He  had  arranged  the  terrorist  killings 
in  meetings  held  at  a  Berlin  mosque.  Later,  it  was  found  that 
Darabi  had  arranged  the  killings  directly  under  the  orders  of 
Iranian  diplomats. 

♦1992  and  1993,  Turkey:  Iranian-trained  hit  squads  killed  several 
popular  Turkish  journalists,  Iranian  dissidents,  and  an  Israeli 
security  officer;  and  attempted  to  kill  a  leader  of  the  Turkish 
Jewish  community.  Turkish  police  found  that  the  perpetrators  were 
trained  in  Teheran. 

♦Spring  1994,  Bangkok,  Thailand:  A  booby  trapped  car  filled  with 
the  same  type  of  nitrate-based  explosive  used  in  the  bombing  of 
the  World  Trade  Center  was  found  a  short  distance  from  the  Israe- 


70 


li  and  American  Embassies  in  Bangkok.  The  car  was  found  hours 
before  the  bomb  was  set  to  go  off.  Weeks  later,  several  Iranians 
were  arrested  by  Thai  police  which  had  found  links  to  the  at- 
tempted bombing.  But  they   were  soon  released. 

Although  Iranian  officials  have  told  western  interviewers  that 
they  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  these  strings  of  murders,  we 
should  listen  to  what  they  say  among  themselves.  In  an  extraordi- 
nary interview  on  Iranian  television  in  August  1992,  Ali  Fallahi- 
an,  head  of  the  Iranian  Ministry  of  Intelligence,  openly  took 
credit  for  the  killing  of  opponents  abroad.  "Our  services  follow 
members  of  these  groups  abroad. ..[ and  have  been  responsible  for] 
blows  delivered  to  the  opposition  groups  outside  the  country." 
Fallahian  even  admitted  that  Iran  operates  an  extensive  espionage 
operation  in  other  countries,  "In  some  countries,  we  have  spies 
in  the  highest  level  of  leadership." 

Iran  often  collaborates  and  networks  with  other  radical  Islamic 
groups  as  well.  The  Islamic  Palestinian  group  Hamas  has  a  full- 
time  representative  in  Teheran,  has  received  millions  of  dollars 
from  the  Mullah  regime,  and  has  used  Iran  as  a  meeting  ground  for 
top  level  conferences.  Iran  has  an  even  closer  alliance  with 
Palestine  Islamic  Jihad,  a  rival  Palestinian  fundamentalist 
organization.  Fat ' hi  Shiqaqi,  head  of  one  of  six  Islamic  Jihad 
factions,  has  openly  admitted  accepting  funds  and  receiving 
training  from  Iran  in  his  war  against  the  "Western-Zionist-Cru- 
saders." In  1993,  Sheik  Shiqaqi  openly  advocated  that  Iran  resume 


71 


its  abduction  of  American  hostages.  In  fact,  it  is  Shiqaqi  who 
has  openly  talked  about  the  impending  clash  of  civilizations 
between  the  Satanic  West  and  Islam.  In  his  view,  every  Muslim  has 
an  obligation  to  carry  out  Sheik  Ayatollah  Khoumeni ' s  fatwa  that 
the  "Zionist  entity"  be  destroyed,  and  that  Israel's  existence  is 
only  the  extension  of  the  United  States  conspiracy  against  Islam. 

Israel  has  already  declared  it  will  avenge  the  attacks  in  Buenos 
Aires  and  London.  Already  in  Israel,  a  new  debate  has  emerged 
about  whether  to  revive  the  type  of  covert  intelligence  hit 
squads  that  sought  to  avenge  the  planners  of  the  notorious  Munich 
massacre  in  1972.  But  Israel  cannot  be  the  only  country  on  whose 
shoulders  the  responsibility  of  deterring  this  types  of  attacks. 
Moreover,  it  is  all  but  guaranteed  that  no  matter  what  Israel 
does,  it  will  not  be  able  to  shut  down  the  world  wide  network  of 
radical  Islamic  terror  alone. 

Such  a  resolution,  if  at  all  possible,  can  only  come  about 
through  the  offices  of  the  United  States.  Last  week.  Secretary  of 
State  Warren  Christopher  told  this  body  that  Hizbullah  and  Iran 
"must  be  contained."  He  articulated  a  criticism  of  those  coun- 
tries that  continue  to  engage  in  commercial  trade  relations  with 
Iran . 

But  isolating  Iran  is  still  not  enough.  Hizbullah  today  oper- 
ates under  the  full  protection  of  Syria.  In  fact,  all  of  Hizbul- 
lah '  s  main  training  bases  are  located  in  the  Bekka  Valley,  under 
the  total  sovereignty  of  Syria.  Much  of  Hizbullah' s  weapons  are 


72 


sent  through  Damascus  by  air  and  then  by  truck  convoy  through 
Syrian  military  lines.  Syria  uses  Hizbullah  to  attack  Israeli 
targets  in  the  south  as  an  appendage  of  its  foreign  policy:  Syria 
believes  such  attacks  place  pressure  on  Israel  while  giving  Syria 
plausible  deniability  that  it  is  involved  in  terror.  The  charade 
works  because  the  West  goes  along  with  it. 

Today,  Lebanon  is  the  largest  geographic  terrorist  base  in  the 
world,  thanks  to  Syria.  Although  there  is  no  evidence  that  Syria 
approves  of  or  is  aware  of  the  attacks  in  Argentina  or  Great 
Britain,  Syrian  complicity  cannot  be  removed  in  the  same  way  that 
Israeli  complicity  could  not  be  removed  from  the  massacre  of 
Palestinians  by  Phalangist  squads  in  Sabra  and  Chatilla  in  1982. 
As  the  guarantor  of  Lebanon,  Syria  cannot  avoid  responsibility 
for  the  operations  of  a  terror  group  it  sustains  and  protects. 

Ironically,  it  is  the  United  States  itself  where  many  of  the 
groups  have  established  political  and  financial  headquarters. 
According  to  law  enforcement  and  intelligence  officials,  most 
Middle  East  terror  organizations  and  radical  Islamic  militant 
groups  have  established  an  extensive  presence--and  in  some  cases 
their  political  headquarters--right  here  in  the  United  States. 
For  the  most  part,  many  of  these  groups  have  not  carried  out 
terror  attacks  on  American  soil  for  fear  of  spoiling  what  has 
become  a  political  safehaven.  They  use  the  United  States  to 
raise  millions  of  dollars,  organize  politically,  and  even  command 
military  operations  in  their  native  lands  by  remote  control. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  intensity  of  the  fierce  anti-Western 


73 


and  anti-American  ideology  of  these  radical  Islamic  groups  in- 
creasingly conflicts  with  their  short-terra  pragmatic  considera- 
tions. Hence  the  bombing  of  the  World  Trade  Center.  Despite  the 
freedom  afforded  those  who  were  living  here,  in  the  end  it  was 
that  very  freedom  that  was  despised.  It  is  this  paradox  that  we 
in  the  West  will  have  to  confront. 

Some  Western  security  officials  with  whom  I  have  recently 
spoken  believe  the  bombing  of  the  Jewish  and  Israeli  targets  in 
London  and  Buenos  Aires  can  be  "contained"  to  Jewish  and  Israeli 
targets.  Not  only  is  such  a  distinction  invidious,  it  is  only  a 
matter  of  time  before  the  ideology  driving  these  attacks  esca- 
lates into  attacks  on  "non-Middle  East"  targets. 

As  I  said  earlier:  The  notion  that  "peace"  in  the  Middle  East 
will  assuage  radical  Islamic  groups  or  that  some  form  of  Western 
reconciliation  is  possible  with  radical  Islamic  groups  is  woeful- 
ly mistaken.  Hizbullah's  and  Iran's  argument  with  Israel  is  not 
over  specific  Israeli  acts.  Contrary  to  the  point  raised  by  a 
distinguished  columnist  in  the  New  York  Times  last  week,  the 
terrorist  causes  of  the  bombings  in  Argentina  and  England  cannot 
be  rationally  solved  anymore  than  the  death  threat  against 
Salman  Rushdie  can  be  resolved  by  appeasing  the  radical  fundamen- 
talists making  the  threat. 

These  bombings  should  finally  force  the  West  to  wake  up  to  the 
new  battlefront  it  is  facing--an  era  of  unalterably  violent  anti- 
western,  anti-Jewish,  anti-Christian  rage  and  anti  moderate 


74 


Muslim  rage.  Coupled  with  the  bombing  of  the  World  Trade  Center 
last  year,  these  bombings  show  that  radical  Islamic  militants 
have  now  taken  their  battle  from  their  homelands  into  the  heart 
of  enemy  territory--the  West. 

It  will  require  concerted  action  by  all  countries  to  coordinate 
their  intelligence,  asylum,  security  procedures,  and  immigration 
policies  to  protect  civilians  from  increasingly  becoming  the  new 
frontline  in  the  unfolding  wave  of  terrorism. 


75 


PRESENTATION  BY  DR.  RUBEN  BERAJA,  PRESffiENT  OF  THE  D.A.I.A., 

DELEGATION  OF  ARGENTINE  JEWISH  ASSOCIATIONS 

SUB-COMMITTEE  OF  HUMAN  RIGHTS  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  AUGUST  1,  1994 


Mr.  Chairman: 


I 

I  thank  you  for  the  concern  of  the  Sub-committee  under  your  leadership,  to  consider 
in  this  hearmg  the  criminal  terrorist  attack  that  took  place  in  my  country  on  July  18,  1994. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  very  good  relationship  existing  between  Argentina  and 
the  United  States,  the  international  repercussions  of  the  terrorist  threat,  the  traditional 
solidarity  of  your  country  with  the  Jewish  people,  and  the  influence  that  the  United  States  has 
m  the  world.  I  have  decided  to  accept  your  invitation  so  that  through  this  significant  body, 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  may  commit  its  strong  action  to  face  such  a  threat. 

I  come  as  an  Argentinean  committed  to  democracy  and  human  rights,  with  the  ideals 
of  peace  and  harmony,  without  prejudice  or  discrimination.    As  such  and  as  a  Jew,  I  preside 
D.A.I. A.,  the  representative  organization  of  the  Argentinean  Jewish  institutions,  and  an 
affiliate  of  the  World  Jewish  Congress. 

But  I  am  convinced  that  I  do  not  speak  only  for  myself,  nor  only  for  the  organization 
I  represent,  but  on  behalf  of  millions  of  fellow  Argentineans  of  various  beliefs  and 
ideologies,  who  share  the  condemnation  of  terror,  who  are  committed  with  life,  freedom  and 
the  rule  of  law. 

Please  see  me  also  as  another  survivor  of  the  attack,  and  this  should  be  taken  literally, 
because  our  DA. I. A.  offices  were  located  in  the  same  A. M.I. A.  building  that  was  totally 
destroyed. 

II 

Before  addressing  in  depth  our  issue  I  wish  to  pay  heartfelt  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
the  manyrs  of  July  18.  to  offer  a  prayer  for  the  recovery  of  the  wounded  and  comfort  to  the 
bereaved  families. 

At  the  same  time  I  wish  to  point  out  before  the  world  that  millions  of  Argentineans, 


76 


charitable  institutions,  dignitaries  of  the  various  religious  beliefs,  political  parties,  labor 
unions,  professional  associations,  the  Armed  Forces,  artists,  intellectuals,  students  and  all 
governmental  powers  shared  the  anguish  and  pain  in  a  public  rally  that  constimted  an 
example  of  brotherhood  and  solidarity,  that  honor  the  Argentinean  people. 

Similarly,  I  wish  to  point  out  the  devoted  effort  of  the  security  forces,  of  the  rescuers 
and  medical  personnel,  as  well  as  of  the  thousands  of  anonymous  volunteers  that  worked 
without  dismay  in  the  midst  of  so  much  destruction. 

Ill 

The  sounds  of  the  murderous  explosion  have  ceased,  but  not  its  sequels. 

Among  them  I  wish  to  underscore  the  fear  generated  in  vast  sectors  of  the  population, 
based  on  their  inability  to  understand  how  and  why  a  community  center  can  be  attacked  with 
such  cruelty,  a  center  dedicated  to  the  common  good,  to  religious  services,  to  social  welfare 
and  education,  to  promote  culture  and  develop  activities  for  young  people.    That  is  the 
mission  of  the  A. M.I. A.,  which  has  just  celebrated  100  years  of  service,  being  one  of  the 
most  important  organizations  of  its  kind  in  the  Jewish  world. 

Fear,  the  legitimate  reaction  of  people  who  face  a  brutal  and  apparently  uncontrollable 
threat,  generates  such  undesirable  and  painful  effects  as  seeing  the  victims  of  terrorism  as 
potential  threat  to  them,  as  if  the  victims  were  the  criminals,  and  generating  attempts  of 
segregation  that  would  severely  effect  the  principle  of  pluralism. 

Although  it  hurts  to  admit  it,  it  is  true  that  for  some  circles,  today  Argentinean  Jews 
are  considered  a  potential  source  of  danger,  and  therefore  there  is  an  attempt  to  create  a 
separation  between  Jews  and  non-Jews,  in  a  reappearance  of  attitudes  that  we  believed  had 
been  definitely  eradicated  from  Argentinean  society.    This  constitutes  a  significant  challenge 
for  our  society,  and  especially  for  the  Government,  so  as  not  to  allow  that  the  long  struggle 
to  eliminate  all  forms  of  discrimination,  and  particularly  anti-Semitism,  be  frustrated. 

In  a  climate  of  tension  and  confusion,  we  have  witnessed  expressions  inspired  in  the 
anti-Semitic  prejudice,  including  its  modem  version,  anti-Zionism,  and  coming  in  times  of 
such  sorrow  for  the  Jewish  community.    We  do  not  minimize  the  potential  threat  and  do  not 
take  it  lightly. 

President,  Dr.  Carlos  Menem  has  shared  our  concern  and  reiterated  his  commitment 
to  neutralize  those  alarm  signals.    The  next  few  weeks  will  allow  us  to  evaluate  with  greater 
clarity  the  development  of  this  serious  issue  and  we  will  be  able  to  draw  more  definite 

conclusions. 

It  is  our  hope  that  the  downward  trend  that  was  taking  place  in  our  country  vis-a-vis 
anti-Semitism,  that  allowed  me  to  report  to  this  same  Sub-committee  in  early  February  of 


77 


this  year,  on  a  positive  tone,  may  be  ratified  without  any  doubt  in  the  near  future.    We  trust 
that  several  measures  the  Argentinean  government  is  adopting,  such  as  the  struggle  against 
discrimination  and  anti-Semitism,  the  active  repudiation  of  the  presence  of  Nazi  war 
criminals  in  our  country  and  the  initiatives  that  it  has  proposed  nationally  and  internationally 
regarding  the  fight  against  terrorism,  will  contribute  towards  this  goal. 


rv 

The  savage  attack  against  the  headquarters  of  A. M.I. A.  and  D.A.I. A.  is  undergoing 
a  thorough  investigation,  both  by  the  courts  as  well  as  the  security  and  intelligence  agencies, 
and  public  opinion  is  anxiously  waiting  for  the  identification  and  apprehension  of  those 
responsible,  directly  and  ideologically,  both  coming  from  outside  the  country  as  well  as  from 
within  it. 

It  is  necessary  to  indicate  that  to  the  commotion  caused  by  this  terrorist  attack  on  the 
A. M.I. A.,  was  added  the  frustration  for  the  lack  of  concrete  results  of  the  investigation 
regarding  the  attack  suffered  by  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Buenos  Aires,  in  1992.    Such  a 
circumstance  has  special  relevance  today,  because  it  is  a  negative  precedent  regarding  the 
ability  of  the  State  to  punish  international  terrorism. 


I  wish  to  underscore  that  this  violation  of  our  rule  of  law  perpetrated  on  July  18, 
which  left  over  100  dead,  and  more  than  250  injured,  took  place  in  the  framework  of  a 
democracy  where  public  freedoms  and  human  rights  are  highly  respected,  notwithstanding 
cenain  deficiencies  in  the  system,  which  is  in  a  state  of  transition. 

Exercising  those  same  freedoms,  which  obviously  include  freedom  of  the  press  and  of 
expression.  1  had  the  duty  of  presenting  the  position  of  the  Jewish  commumty  and  of  vast 
sectors  of  society,  with  the  President  of  Argentina  in  attendance,  without  euphemisms  and 
ambiguities.    I  mention  that  speech  as  an  example  of  the  degree  of  freedom  existing  in  my 
country,  and  it  is  fair  to  acknowledge  the  behavior  of  the  government  in  this  respect  and  the 
merit  of  the  citizens  of  exercising  their  rights  without  limitations,  without  self-censorship, 
without  fear,  all  of  which  do  not  belong  in  a  true  democratic  system. 

I  enclose  a  copy  of  that  speech,  for  the  record,  because  I  believe  it  should  be  studied 
by  this  Sub-committee. 

VI 

The  legitimate  demands  presented  in  that  speech  have  found  a  positive  echo  in  the 
government,  which  among  others  has  implemented  a  series  of  security  measures  to  protect 
Jewish  institutions,  reinforcing  those  in  existence  up  to  now  and  has  promised 


78 


complementary  actions  within  the  framework  of  defense  and  foreign  relations  policy. 

With  reference  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  Security  Council  of  the  United 
Nations  at  the  request  of  my  government,  we  are  not  satisfied  because  such  resolution  makes 
no  reference  -  for  political  motivations  -  to  the  fact  that  the  attack  was  against  the  center  of 
Argentmean  Jewish  life. 

It  must  be  clear  that  we  have  not  satisfied  all  our  aspirations,  nor  are  we  making  any 
compromise  in  our  strong  demand  to  obtain  effective  answers  to  our  concerns. 

Our  non-panisan  character,  our  status  as  a  non-governmental  organization, 
autonomous  and  independent  by  tradition  and  by  principle,  gives  us  the  authority  to  fulfill 
this  active  role  with  a  certainty  that  through  it  we  are  contributing  to  the  strengthening  of 
democracy  and  defending  legitimate  interests  of  society  as  a  whole.    With  that  same 
authority,  we  express  before  this  distinguished  body  our  call  to  face  fundamentalist  terrorism, 
of  which  Argentina  -  at  the  very  heart  of  its  Jewish  community  -  has  been  the  victim. 

We  still  have  time  to  prevent  indifference  from  allowing  the  development  of  Nazism 
and  the  crimes  it  committed,  is  not  repeated  in  the  face  of  an  ideology  that  does  not  hide  its 
genocidal  fanaticism,  its  terrifying  violence  and  total  disregard  for  human  life. 

VII 

Based  on  what  has  been  previously  said,  we  consider  it  appropriate  to  request  the 
following: 

1 .  To  the  respected  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  representatives  of  the 
people,  view  the  terrorist  attack  as  a  highly  serious  example  of  the  dangers  of 
international  terrorism,  and  consequently  articulate  legislative  measures  to  help 
defeat  this  dangerous  threat  to  peace  and  harmony  among  peoples. 

2.  Within  the  same  context,  we  request  that  the  initiatives  recently  proposed 
by  the  Argentinean  Foreign  Minister  to  the  Security  Council  of  the  United 
Nations  be  supponed. 

3.  That  the  United  States  continue  to  provide  maximum  cooperation  to 
Argentina,  as  requested,  towards  the  goal  of  finding  those  responsible  for  the 
criminal  attack. 

4     We  are  also  confident  that  the  United  States  Congress  will  promote  at  the 
United  Nations  those  policies  that  would  involve  the  organization  to  seek 
sanctions  against  those  member  states  who  support  or  protect  terrorists.    With 
the  same  intent,  we  hope  that  the  Group  of  Seven  will  join  their  efforts 
towards  the  same  goals. 


79 


5.  We  also  respectfully  request  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  support 
our  forthcoming  requests  to  the  European  Union,  within  the  same  goals. 

6.  It  is  naniral  to  suggest  to  the  Organization  of  American  States  that,  added 
to  their  public  condemnation  of  the  attack,  it  adopts  resolutions  in  order  to 
work  together  to  prevent  and  combat  international  terrorism. 

The  forthcoming  Hemispheric  Summit  that  will  take  place  in  December  in  Miami, 
must  be  the  opportunity  -  as  announced  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Warren  Christopher  - 
for  the  heads  of  state  to  effectively  express  their  solidarity  with  victims  of  terrorism  and 
adopt  adequate  decisions. 

VIII 

Mr.  President: 

We  have  to  face  international  terrorism.  Everyone  is  a  potential  victim,  and  no  one 
has  the  right  to  remam  indifferent.  Democratic  societies  constitute  the  only  way  of  life  that 
insures  the  protection  and  the  rights  of  all  its  citizens. 

As  a  believer,  I  appeal  to  the  spiritual  leaders  of  all  faiths  so  that  in  each  prayer  they 
ask  for  respect,  harmony  and  peace  between  all  human  beings. 

As  a  descendant  of  immigrants  coming  from  Syria,  where  as  in  other  countries  of  the 
region,  Jews  and  Muslims  coexisted  in  the  past,  I  call  upon  them  so  that  they  do  not  allow 
those  withm  their  midst  who  abhor  the  spirimal  values  of  their  faith,  committing  horrible 
crimes  under  its  name.    We  urge  them,  instead,  to  join  those  who  are  actively  promoting  the 
peace  process  between  Israel  and  the  Arab  countries,  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  peoples  of  the 
region  and  world  peace. 


Mr.  Chairman; 

Even,'  human  being  has  the  right  to  enjoy  the  fundamental  freedoms,  and  governments 
have  the  responsibility  of  ensuring  them.    Today  we  witness  with  great  concern  that  one  of 
those  essential  freedoms  is  in  danger:    The  freedom  from  fear.    Every  one  of  us,  to  the 
extent  of  his  or  her  responsibilities,  must  join  efforts  to  stop  the  threat  of  terrorism. 

Argentinean  society  has  made  it  very  clear:    We  stand  together  against  terrorism. 


THANK  YOU  VERY  MUCH 


80 


Testimony 

of 

Ms.  Barbara  A.  Bodine 

Coordinator  for  Counterterrorism 

before 

the  Subcommittee  on 

International  Security,  International  Organizations 

and  Human  Rights 

of  the 

House  Foreign  Affairs  Committee 


August  1,  1994 


Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  Committee: 

Thank  you  for  inviting  the  State  Department  to  testify  this 
morning.   We  deeply  appreciate  your  continuing  interest,  as 
demonstrated  through  this  hearing,  in  U.S.  Government  efforts 
to  counter  the  threat  posed  by  international  terrorism. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  take  this  opportunity  to 
e.xtend  on  behalf  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  entire 
Department  our  deepest  sympathies  to  all  the  victims  of  the 
recent  terrorist  attacks  in  Buenos  Aires,  London  and,  Panama, 
as  well  as  the  attacks,  albeit  unrelated,  in  Madrid  and 
Northern  Ireland  last  Friday. 

It  is  particularly  tragic  and  ironic  that  the  attacks  in 
Buenos  Aires,  Panama  and  London  occurred  just  as  prospects  for 
peace  in  the  Middle  East  are  brighter  than  they  have  been  this 
century.   And,  let  me  assure  you,  the  forces  opposed  to  a 
comprehensive  peace  in  the  Middle  East  will  not  meet  their 
objective  by  attacks  on  civilians  literally  thousands  of  miles 
away.   In  this  regard,  we  are  deeply  heartened  at  the  recent 
massive  demonstration  by  150,000  Argentines  that  took  place  in 
Buenos  Aires  to  repudiate  the  bombing  and  to  express  solidarity 
with  the  families  of  the  victims. 

Mr.  Chairman,  just  a  few  days  ago  you  held  hearings  to 
examine  again  the  response  of  this  government  to  the  Pan  Am  103 
bombing.   In  many  respects,  what  happened  at  the  Argentine 
Israeli  Mutual  Association  (AMIA)  is  a  tragic  parallel  to  that 
terrible  night  over  Lockerbie.   Just  as  Pan  Am  103  demonstrated 
the  callousness  and  savagery  of  international  terrorism,  so  too 
did  AMIA.   More  importantly,  the  Pan  Am  103  bombing--and 
similar  acts  of  terrorism  in  the  1980s--invigorated  many  states 
to  combat  terrorism  through  the  application  of  the  rule  of  law 
and  by  bringing  pressure  to  bear  on  those  few  states  that 
support  terrorism.   I  trust  that  the  AMIA  bombing,  and  the 
incidents  that  have  followed  it,  will  produce  the  same 
consequences  for  those  who  undertake  such  attacks  and  those 
governments  that  help  make  such  attacks  happen. 


81 


As  you  requested,  I  would  like  to  explain  what  the  U.S. 
Government  has  done,  both  in  the  aftermath  of  the  AMIA  bombing 
and  a  similar  attack  in  1992  on  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Buenos 
Aires,  to  assist  the  Government  of  Argentina  in  its  efforts  to 
investigate  and  to  bring  to  justice  those  responsible  for  this 
outrage,  and  to  deter  future  acts  of  terrorism. 

In  1992  and  again  after  the  AMIA  bombing,  the  U.S.  sent 
investigative  and  forensic  personnel  to  Buenos  Aires  to 
provide  on-the-scene  assistance  to  their  Argentine 
colleagues.   The  most  recent  team  included  representatives 
of  the  State  Department's  Bureau  of  Diplomatic  Security, 
the  FBI  and  the  Bureau  of  Alcohol,  Tobacco  and  Firearms. 
Included  on  that  team  in  view  of  his  special  expertise  was 

one  of  the  key  bomb  site  technicians  from  the  World  Trade 
Center  investigation.   That  team  has  now  completed  its 
crime  scene  work  and  has  returned  to  the  U.S.   As  requested 
by  Argentina,  evidence  collected  by  the  team  will  be 
analyzed  in  FBI  and  ATF  laboratories.   An  Argentine 
forensic  specialist  came  back  with  the  team  to  participate 
in  these  forensic  studies. 

A  central  element  in  the  effective  international  effort  to 
prevent  and  counter  terrorism  or  to  bring  to  justice  those 
responsible  for  such  attacks  is  the  effective  exchange  of 
intelligence.   I  wish  to  assure  you  that  the  U.S. 
intelligence  community  is  cooperating  closely  and 
effectively  with  other  services  as  part  of  the 
international  effort  to  identify  those  responsible  for  this 
recent  outrage. 

To  help  prevent  such  terrorist  horrors,  the  United  States 
has  also  provided  extensive  training  through  the 
Anti-terrorism  Training  Assistance  program  to  Argentina 
between  1992  and  now.   Among  the  courses  offered  have  been 
Post-Blast  Investigation,  Explosive  Incident 
Countermeasures  and  a  Terrorist  Interdiction  Seminar.   Many 
other  courses  have  also  been  offered  or  are  scheduled,  Mr. 
Chairman,  and  I  would  ask  that  the  list  I  have  prepared  be 
made  part  of  the  Committee's  record. 

The  United  States  has  also  been  deeply  concerned  over  the 
development  in  Latin  America  of  a  Hizballah  presence.   Just 
this  spring,  we  approached  governments  throughout  the 
region  expressing  our  concern  over  the  growing  Hizballah 
presence.   Unfortunately,  the  responses  taken  to  date  have 
proven  inadequate.  We  will,  of  course,  be  undertaking 
additional  initiatives  concerning  this  issue,  as  Secretary 
Christopher  discussed  last  Thursday. 

Mr.  Chairman,  you  also  asked  me  to  address  the  issue  of 

what  group  or  groups  might  have  undertaken  this  attack.  Let  me 

begin  by  reviewing  what  we  know  about  the  1992  attack  on  the 
Israeli  Embassy.   That  attack  was  clearly  the  work  of 

Hizballah,  the  terrorist  group  created  by  Iran  and  which  has 
undertaken  some  of  the  world's  most  repulsive  acts  of 


82 


terrorism,  particularly  hostage-taking  and  murder  in  Lebanon 
during  the  1980s.   Hizballah  publicly  claimed  responsibility 
for  bombing  the  Embassy  and,  when  this  claim  was  questioned  by 
the  Lebanese  government,  the  group  released  a  video  of  the 
Embassy  taken  during  a  surveillance  operation  in  order  to 
authenticate  its  claim. 

The  investigation  into  this  most  recent  bombing  continues, 
and  we  have  not  yet  determined  which  group  or  groups  were 
responsible  for  this  attack.   What  we  can  say,  however,  is  that 
this  bombing  demonstrates  both  the  unfortunate  global  reach  of 
terrorists,  and  their  willingness  to  attack  "soft"  targets, 
chosen  only  because  of  their  symbolic  value.   While  Hizballah 
has  denied  that  it  bombed  AMIA,  this  bombing  certainly  has  the 
hallmarks  of  a  Hizballah  operation  and  a  statement  about  the 
attack  has  been  made  by  a  group  using  the  name  Ansar  Al'Allah. 
This  appears  to  be  an  offshoot  of  Hizballah. 

Mr.  Chairman,  while  this  hearing  has  been  called  to  address 
the  recent  AMIA  incident,  it  is  also  important  that  I  discuss 
briefly  the  apparent  bombing  of  a  commuter  plane  outside  of 
Colon,  Panama.   This  apparent  act  of  aviation  sabotage  killed 
twenty-one  people,  including  three  Americans.   It  is  too  early 
to  conclude  definitively  if  the  objective  of  this  attack  was 
political  in  nature  or  perhaps  just  a  type  of  personal  vendetta 
by  a  drug  cartel.   It  is  worth  noting,  moreover,  that  the  Ansar 
al' Allah,  when  it  issued  its  statement  regarding  the  AMIA 
bombing,  also  included  a  reference  to  the  bombing  of  an 
aircraft  in  Panama.   This  statement  was  made  well  before 
aviation  e.xperts  had  determined  that  the  plane  had,  in  fact, 
been  bombed . 

Just  as  in  the  case  of  Argentina,  the  United  States  is 
cooperating  closely  with  Panamanian  authorities.   Shortly  after 
the  plane  crashed,  the  U.S.  sent  a  team  of  investigators  from 
the  National  Transportation  Safety  Board  and  the  FAA  to 
Panama.   In  addition  to  experts  on  aviation  safety,  the 
U .S . --through  the  FBI--is  providing  forensic  assistance. 
Lastly,  since  this  case  resulted  in  the  deaths  of  three 
Americans,  this  bombing  is  being  aggressively  investigated  by 
the  FBI,  pursuant  to  U.S.  "long  arm"  statutes. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  also  like  to  comment  upon  one 
additional  incident  in  Latin  America  which--while  not 
terrorism--is  certainly  instructive  of  the  lengths  to  which 
Iran  will  go  in  its  efforts  to  silence  dissent.   In  June  of 
this  year  Manoucher  Moatamer  and  his  family  fled  Iran.   He  is  a 
former  government  official  in  Tehran.   He  and  his  family  fled 
to  Turkey,  and  then  managed  to  obtain  visas  for  Cuba.   After 
arriving  there,  Iranian  embassy  personnel  forced  them  onto  a 
flight  to  Caracas.   When  they  arrived  there,  they  were  met  by 
other  Iranian  official  personnel  who  essentially  kidnapped  the 
family,  in  apparent  preparation  for  a  forcible  repatriation  to 
Iran.   Mr.  Moatamer  managed  to  escape  and  notify  the  UNHCR  of 
his  predicament.   He  and  his  family  are  now,  thankfully,  safe. 
The  Government  of  Venezuela,  I  am  pleased  to  state,  has 


83 


declared  all  of  the  Iranian  officials  involved,  as  well  as  the 
Ambassador,  persona    non    grata.      Furthermore,  the  Government  of 
Argentina  is  investigating  carefully  information  provided  by 
Mr.  Moatamer  concerning  the  AMIA  bombing. 

The  last  week  has  also  seen  two  additional  acts  of 
international  terrorism  in  London.   One  target  was  the  Israeli 
consulate,  the  other  an  office  of  a  Jewish  social  services 
agency.   Remarkably,  no  one  was  killed  in  either  of  these 
incidents,  but  there  was  extensive  property  damage  and  some 
twenty  people  were  injured  in  these  attacks. 

The  British  have  extensive  experience  in  investigating 
bombings  and  have  not  sought  U.S.  technical  assistance.   We 
are,  however,  following  closely  all  developments  regarding 
these  incidents.   We  will  be  coordinating  closely  with  the 
British  government  regarding  a  common  response  to  these 
apparent  acts  of  state-sponsored  terrorism.   The  two  attacks  in 
London  have  now  been  claimed  in  Beirut  by  a  group  calling 
itself  "Movement  of  the  Oppressed."   The  name  used  in  the 
statement,  as  well  as  the  means  used  to  make  the  claim,  suggest 
that  the  statement  is  both  authentic  and  made  on  behalf  of 
Hizballah. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  events  of  the  last  two  weeks  demonstrate 
all  too  clearly  that  international  terrorism  remains  a  threat 
to  democratic  states  and  their  people  throughout  the  world.   At 
the  same  time,  I  believe  we  are  making  progress  in  limiting 
both  the  number  of  states  willing  to  sponsor  terrorism  and  the 
support  they  provide  to  terrorists.   And  we  will  be  doing  more 
in  this  regard,  as  Secretary  Christopher  described  in  his 
testimony  before  this  Committee  just  last  Thursday.   Efforts 
such  as  those  described  by  the  Secretary,  and  the  longstanding 
policy  objectives  we  pursue  to  counter  terrorism,  are  the  best 
way  to  reduce  further  the  perils  posed  by  terrorism.   The  task 
will  be  neither  quick  nor  always  successful,  but  I  want  to 
assure  you  and  this  Committee  of  the  commitment  of  the  State 
Department  to  do  all  that  it  can  to  meet  this  goal. 

Thank  you  for  this  opportunity  to  appear  before  your 
Cominittee . 


84 


statement  of  Rep.  Gary  L.  Ackerman 
August  1,  1994 

Thank  you  Mr.  Chairman.   Permit  me  to  commend  both  of  you, 
Chairman  Lantos  and  Chairman  Toricelli,  for  holding  this  timely 
hearing.   The  recent  tragedies  in  Argentina,  Panama,  and  the 
United  Kingdom  are  poignant  reminders  that  the  scourge  of 
international  terrorism  remains  with  us. 

The  despicable  events  of  the  last  two  weeks  are  well  known. 
The  July  18  bombing  of  the  Delegation  of  Argentine  Israeli 
Organizations  took  the  lives  of  ninety-six  innocent  people.   Days 
later,  twenty-one  more  were  murdered  when  a  second  terrorist  bomb 
destroyed  a  Panamanian  commuter  jet.   This  diabolical  trend 
continued  when  less  than  a  week  ago,  two  car  bombs  exploded  in 
London,  one  outside  the  Israeli  embassy,  and  another  outside  a 
building  that  housed  several  Jewish  organizations.   Thankfully, 
no  one  was  killed  in  the  London  attacks.   These  bombings  —  the 
hatred  that  motivated  them  and  the  brutality  with  which  they  were 
carried  out  —  are  sickening.   Indeed,  such  barbarism  is 
difficult  to  understand. 

The  motivation  for  these  acts  seems  to  be  political.   We  are 
fortunate  enough  to  live  in  a  time  when  momentous  changes  are 
taking  place  in  the  Middle  East.   Just  last  Wednesday  we 
witnessed  what  would  have  been  unthinkable  only  a  few  years  ago: 
the  Prime  Minister  of  Israel  and  the  King  of  Jordan  declared 
their  commitment  to  peace.   But,  sadly  enough,  not  everyone 
supports  these  great  changes.   Indeed,  the  recent  acts  of  terror 
in  Argentina,  Panama,  and  the  United  Kingdom  remind  us  that  some 
extremists  are  willing  to  commit  murder  to  undermine  the  peace 
process.   They  must  not  be  allowed  to  succeed.   We  must  not 
permit  these  individuals  to  slow,  even  for  a  moment,  the  progress 
towards  lasting  peace  in  the  Middle  East. 

These  acts  are  motivated  by  more  than  politics.   One  does 
not  have  to  scratch  very  deeply  before  it  becomes  apparent  that 
hatred  plays  a  role:  the  very  same  kind  of  ethnic  hatred  that 
motivated  the  Nazis  in  World  War  II,  and  that  today  is 
responsible  for  the  slaughter  in  Bosnia  and  Rwanda.   Sometimes  we 
see  this  kind  of  ethnic  hatred  rear  its  ugly  head  in  the  United 
States,  and  that  is  deeply  troubling. 


85 


We  must  not  be  silent  on  the  issue  of  terrorism.   We  must 
make  it  clear  to  everyone  that  this  kind  of  violence,  whether 
motivated  by  politics  or  by  pure  hatred,  is  unacceptable  and 
unforgivable.   We  must  put  the  terrorists  on  notice  that  their 
acts  will  be  condemned  and  justice  will  be  vigorously  pursued.   I 
have  introduced  a  resolution  condemning  these  recent  attacks, 
expressing  condolences  to  the  families  of  the  victims,  and 
calling  on  the  world  community  to  cooperate  in  bringing  the 
criminals  who  ordered  and  carried  out  these  vicious  attacks  to 
justice,  and  I  urge  my  colleagues  to  join  me  in  speaking  out 
against  these  crimes. 

Taking  swift  action  to  condemn  the  terrorists  is  a  good 
first  step,  but  it  is  no  more  than  a  first  step.   Too  often  it 
seems  that  there  is  little  else  we  can  do.   We  must  work 
together,  along  with  the  international  community,  to  find  new  and 
more  effective  ways  to  combat  international  terrorism.   For  this 
reason  I  am  fully  supportive  of  the  bipartisan  call  for  an 
international  conference  on  this  issue  advocated  by  my  friend  and 
colleague  Tom  Lantos.  Thank  you. 


86 


THE  INTER-PARLIAMENTARY  COUNCIL 
AGAINST  ANTISEMITISM 


1  August  :l?94 


FACSTMILE  TRANSMISSION 


FOR  THE  ATTENTION  OF:  Congressman  Toa  Lantos 


PROM:  The  Hon  Greville  Jaunner  QC  MP 


87 


The 


v^B^ 


THE  INTER-PARLIAMENTARY  COUNCIL 
AGAINST  ANTISEMITISM 


We  send  our  respectful  greetings  to  the  Honourable 
Congressman  Ton  Lantos  and  to  our  distinguished  colleagues 
on  the  Congressional  Foreign  Affairs  Conunittea.  We  much 
appreciated  your  invitation  to  attend  to  give  evidence  on 
the  London  terrorist  bombings  and  much  regret  that  we  could 
not  accept.  We  trust  this  report  of  the  Inter- 
parliamentary Council  Against  Antisenitisa  on  the  bomb 
attacks  on  the  Israeli  Embassy  and  Balfour  House  in  London 
will  be  of  assistance. 


At  12.10pm  on  Tuesday  26th  July  1994  a  car  bomb  exploded 
outside  the  Israeli  Embassy  in  Kensington  High  Street, 
London  injuring  fourteen  people.  The  driver,  described  as 
a  middle  aged  woman  of  mediterranean  appearance,  parked  the 
car  outside  a  block  of  flats  at  the  end  of  Kensington 
Palace  Gardens,  next  to  a  wall  of  the  Embassy. 


88 

She  was  approached  and  challenged  by  a  private  security 
guard  and  an  Israeli  Embassy  guard,  but  satisfied  them  of 
her  bona  fide.  The  car  bomb  which  contained,  between  201b 
and  301b  of  Semtex,  exploded  two  minutes  later.  The  blast 
was  heard  eight  miles  away.  The  bomb  shattered  the  windows 
of  Kensington  Palace,  the  home  of  the  Princess  of  Wales. 

*  At  1:00  am  on  Wednesday  27th  July  1994  a  small  car  bomb 
exploded  outside  Balfour  House,  in  Finchley,  North  London. 
Three  people  were  injured.  Balfour  House  houses  the  Joint 
Israel  Appeal,  and  a  number  of  Jewish  organisations. 

*  The  bomb  went  off  at  12.46  am  between  police  visits. 

*  On  Wednesday  27th  a  Minister  from  the  Foreign  and 
Commonwealth  Office,  visited  the  Embassy,  and  condemned  the 
bombing. 

Why  London? ;. 

*  London  has  acquired  a  reputation  amongst  Muslim  refugees 
who  believe  they  have  more  protection  here,  than  in  other 
European  countries,  such  as  France,  where  there  is  more 
political  instability,  and  greater  fear  of  being  deported 
should  the  political  situation  change.  Britain  has  no  laws 
against  proscribing  non-Irish  terrorist  organisations. 


89 


*  About  100  Jewish  and  Israeli  buildings  were  reportedly 
immediately  placed  under  armed  24  hour  guard  and  surrounded 
by  strict  parking  restrictions. 

*  (1)  Sir  Paul  Condon,  Metropolitan  Police  Corunissioner,  said 
that  Israeli  agencies  abroad  were  helping  Scotland  Yard 
with  their  enquiries  and  that  there  was  full  co-operation 
at  every  level. 

*  (2)  That  it  was  impossible  to  identify  the  totality  of 
potential  targets  at  risk  of  terrorist  attack,  and  that  a 
top  tier,  band  "A"  set  of  targets  had  been  created. 

*  (3)  That  States  such  as  Syria,  Iran  and  Iraq  had  been 
involved  in  such  sophisticated  acts  in  the  past  but  there 
was  no  proof  that  any  of  these  were  involved  in  either 
incident. 

*  (4)  Israeli  sources  have  informed  us  that  Hezbollah, 
Hamas  or  a  smaller  Islamic  fundamentalist  faction  are 
behind  the  bombing. 


90 

Political  rft>^(;t^'^n; 

*  On  27th  July,  Prime  Minister,  John  Major  sent  a  message  of 
support  to  Prime  Minister  Rabin  in  Israel  and  Foreign 
Secretary  Douglas  Hurd  wrote  to  the  Israeli  Ambassador 
Moshe  Raviv. 

*  Uzi  Barram,  Israel's  Tourism  Minister  who  was  in  London  at 
the  time  of  the  blast,  said  that  suicide  attacks  were  a  new 
feature  of  British  terrorism  though  they  have  been  used  by 
groups  such  as  Hezbollah  for  a  number  of  years. 

*  Hone  Office  Minister,  David  Maclean  wrote  in  a  letter 
to  our  President  Grevillc  Janner  QC  MP  that  the 
Government  did  "not  regard  the  banning  of  terrorist 
organisations  as  one  of  our  main  weapons  in  tha 
struggle  against  terrorism." 

*  Tony  Blair,  newly  elected  Leader  of  the  Opposition,  said; 
"  I  am  appalled  at  the  bombing  outrages.  I  deplore  the 
fact  that  terrorist  acts  are  being  committed  against  the 
Jewish  community." 

*  Jack  Cunnigham,  Shadow  Foreign  Secretary,  wrote  to  Douglas 
Hurd,  asking  him  to  provide,  "much  greater  levels  of 
surveillance  and  protection  ....  for  the  Israeli  Ambassador 
and  his  staff,  officers,  and  organisations  associated  with 
the  Jewish  community  in  London." 


91 


On  28th  July,  and  aft«r  intervention  by  the  Council,  the 
Governinent  announced  that  it  was  working  closely  with  th«- 
Argentinians   on   a   UN   Security   Council   Presidential 
Statenent  strongly  condemning  terrorism  and  emphasising  the 
need  to  stregthen  international  co-operation  to  combat  it. 

Prime  Minister  John  Major  told  the  Conservative  Middle  East 
Council  that  the  "we  must  seek  out  the  perpetrators 
and  bring  them  to  justice.   It  is  unacceptable  for  any 
State  to  tolerate,  let  alone  support,  terrorism." 


The  Council  recommends; 

*  (1)  On  27th  July  the  Council  asked  the  Prirae  Minister  and 
the  Home  Secretary  to  condemn  the  act. 

*  (2)  To  proscribe  Hamas  and  any  other  Islamic  extremist 
organisation  associated  with  terror 

*  ( 3 )  To  impose  sanctions  on  those  countries  which  either 
commission,  harbour  or  assist  in  the  perpetration  of  such 
acts . 

*  (4)  To  urge  the  European  Union  and  the  United  Nations  to 
impose  sanctions,  aod  to  co-sponsor  an  urgent  debate  at  the 
Security  Council  of  the  United  Nations  on  International 

Terrorism. 

*  The  Council  respectfully  invites  your  distinguished 
committee  to  urge  all  nations  to  take  those  or  similar 
steps . 


92 

UK  WRITTEN  STATEMENT  ON  BUENOS  AIRES/LONDON  BOMBINGS 

The  United  Kingdom  strongly  condemns  the  recent  bombings  in 
London  of  the  Israeli  Embassy  on  26  July  and  of  Balfour  House 
(offices  of  a  number  of  Jewish  Organisations)  on  27  July. 
Fortunately  there  were  no  fatalities,  though  a  number  of 
people  were  injured  and  there  was  extensive  damage  to 
property. 

We  also  strongly  condemn  the  appalling  bombing  of  the 
Headquarters  of  the  Israeli  Association  for  Mutual  Assistance 
of  Argentina  in  Buenos  Aires  on  18  July  which  caused  the  loss 
of  so  many  lives  and  many  injuries.   Our  sympathies  and 
condolences  go  to  all  the  victims  of  these  despicable 
atrocities  and  their  families. 

The  Prime  Minister  said  on  28  July: 

"We  cannot  yet  be  certain  who  lay  behind  these  acts,  or 
whether  they  are  connected.   But  I  want  to  express  the 
repugnance  of  everyone  here  at  these  attacks  and  at  all  acts 
of  terrorism  -  and  our  sympathy  for  the  victims  and  the 
bereaved . 

For  terrorism  is  the  enemy  of  us  all.   Terrorism  has  been 
directed  at  those  who  seek  peace  and  progress  in  the  Middle 
East.  Terrorism  is  perpetrated  by  those  who  refuse  to  abide  by 
the  rule  of  law  and  by  the  principles  of  a  civilised  society. 

We  must  seek  out  its  perpetrators  and  bring  them  to  justice. 
It  is  unacceptable  for  any  State  to  tolerate,  let  alone 
support,  terrorism.   The  international  community  must  unite 
against  it . " 


93 


The  Foreign  Secretary  has  also  expressed  the  Government's 
condemnation  of  these  bombings. 

The  United  Kingdom  is  deeply  concerned  about  such  acts  of 
international  terrorism  and,  as  the  Prime  Minister  has  said, 
we  are  making  every  effort  to  bring  the  perpetrators  to 
justice.   It  is  important  for  the  international  community  to 
take  strong  and  effective  measures  to  combat  terrorism.   We 
welcome  Secretary  of  State  Christopher's  statement  to  the 
House  Foreign  Relations  Committee  on  28  July  that  the  State 
Department's  counter-terrorism  experts  would  begin  to  look  for 
ways  to  enhance  international  cooperation  against  terrorism. 
The  UK  will  play  its  full  part. 

We  also  welcome  the  close  cooperation  we  have  received  from 
allies  and  friends  and  are  in  close  touch  with  the  Argentine, 
Israeli  and  US  authorities.   Although  there  is  yet  no  firm 
evidence  of  who  carried  out  these  atrocities  an  intense 
investigation  is  under  way  to  try  and  establish  who  was 
responsible.   A  comprehensive  review  of  security  has  also 
taken  place  and  over  100  Israeli  and  other  premises  are  under 
armed  guard. 


BRITISH  EMBASSY 
WASHINGTON 

29  JULY  1994 


94 


Speech  delivered  by  the  President  of  D.A.I. A. ,  Dr.  Ruben  Beraja  on  July  21.  1994 
at  a  public  rally  held  in  Buenos  Aires. 

Fellow  Argentines 

The  brutal,  criminal  attack  that  sowed  death  and  destruction  in  the  center 
of  Jewish  institutional  life  in  Argentina  has  brought  us  together  in  vast 
numbers,  in  spite  of  the  untimely  weather,  we  are  here  to  offer  a  courageous 
and  civilized  albeit  energetic  response  to  this  abominable  crime.  Terror, 
regardless  of  its  origin  and  of  the  viper  that  engenders  it,  once  again,  has 
undermined  public  security  to  attack  the  venerable  and  benevolent  A.M.I.A.  and 
D.A.l.A ,  to  assault  the  Argentine  Jewish  Community,  extending  its  violence  to  the 
entire  Republic  and  its  inhabitants  irrespectively  of  their  creed  or  sector.  This  is 
not  a  rhetorical  statement,  nor  is  it  a  compromise.  These  are  not  times  for 
rhetoric  or  for  empty  words 

The  barbaric  attack  perpetrated  last  Monday  has  undermined  the  very  foundations 
of  our  National  State,  irrupting  in  full  daylight,  In  the  center  of  Buenos  Aires, 
imposing  its  criminal  law  over  the  rule  of  law,  disposing  of  the  lives  and  the 
property  of  the  Argentine  people  upon  its  vicious  whim.  It  has  fractured  our 
domestic  harmony  instilling  consternation  and  fear  over  public  order.  For  this 
reason  it  is  evident  that  although  the  outrage  was  directed  against  the  Argentine 
Jewish  Community  it  could  not  be  consumated  without  first  attacking  the  legal 
foundations  on  which  our  Nation  is  based.  It  could  not  have  taken  place  without 
suppressing  '_ne  nriorai  foundation  of  an  entire  civilized  society. 

In  response  to  the  magnitude  of  the  aggression  It  is  logical  that  our  citizenry 
should  be  present, representing  all  sectors.  Beyond  natural  human  solidarity 
inspired  by  the  pain  of  our  fellow  human  beings,  we  are  well  aware  that  we  cannot 
shrug  off  or  ignore  the  challenge  arising  from  the  depth  of  our  perception,  since 
this  attack  involves  us  all  and  affects  us  all. 

The  reign  of  terror  with  its  criminal  logic  tend'.;  to  install  itself  in  those 
ocieties  in  which  the  legal  order  is  weak,  in  which  systems  of  prevention  and 
punishment,  are  neither  efficient  nor  effective,  and  the  repudiation  of  t^^^e-men-an^ 
women-of  the  people  is  not  sufficiently  energetic.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is 
our  task  to  define  our  conduct  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  these  attacks.  First  of  all, 
by  the  action  of  civil  society  which  as  it  has  done  today.  In  an  exemplary  and 
moving  manner,  to  such  a  degree  that  I  weep,  seeing  you  from  here,  from  this 
podium 


c 


95 


Our  citizenry  must  unite,  solldarlly,  in  order  to  banish  all  douDts  as  to  its 
repulsion  of  terror.  Its  conduct  should  not  be  guided  by  the  fear  of  living  near 
Jews  but  rather  by  the  courage  of  fighting  crime,  acting  from  within  a  social 
fabric  imbued  with  the  ethics  of  civilization.  The  State  and  Institutions  must  face 
this  new  reality  from  a  different  perspective,  with  new  concepts,  putting 
defense  to  the  service  of  the  Republic,  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  People. 
Security  is  not  to  be  interpreted  merely  as  repression,  and  the  administration  of 
Justice  Implies  enforcement  of  the  law  with  effective  vigor. 

Thus  one  can  better  understand  the  repeated  requests  that  the  investigation  and 
procedures  relating  to  the  attack  on  the  Embassy  of  Israel  28  months  ago,  lead  to 
the  establishment  of  responsibilities  and  the  punishment  of  the  guilty. 
This  is  necessary  not  only  punish  the  guilty  but  essentially  because  it  implies  a 
revalidation  of  the  estalished  order,  that  of  our  legal  system  over  the  system  of 
criminal  terrorism.  It  implies  a  demonstration  of  our  capacity  to  react  and  to 
show  to  ourselves  and  to  the  world  that  the  lives  of  our  inhabitants  and  their 
property  is  not  at  the  mercy  of  international  terrorism  but  is  under  the  protection 
of  the  Argentine  Republic  and  its  institutions.  It  is  regrettable  that  in  spite  of  the 
time  that  has  elapsed  an  appropriate  response  could  not  be  achieved. 

A  signal  Is  needed,  indicating  to  international  terrorism  that  Argentina  is  not  a 
free  zone  for  vandalism  and  aggression.  In  this  context  there  are  many  persons 
who  ask  why  Buenos  Aires  is  chosen  repeatedly  as  the  scene  for  this  type  of  crime. 

Personally,  I  believe  that  the  aforementioned  facts  are  a  significant  part  of  the 
answer  Nevertheless  between  questions  and  answers  I  wish  to  refer  to  a  question 
that  Is  brought  up  recurrently.  Should  these  consequences  not  be  attributed  to 
Argentine  policy?  1  answer  the  following; 

We  can  agree  or  disagree  with  the  policy;  what  no  Argentine  can  do  is  to  modify  it 
merely  to  neutralize  terrorist  aggression.  In  this  case  reasoning  carried  to  the 
absurd  would  have  us  admit  that  terrorism  not  only  reigns  in  our  territory 
affecting  domestic  peace,  but  that  It  also  imposes  upon  us  our  foreign  policy. 

in  facing  up  so  clearly  to  a  question  that  pertains  to  national  politics,  I  do  not 
intend  to  defend  a  given  policy.  That  is  not  my  role.  What  I  demand  is  a  new  point 
of  departure  for  dealing  with  this  delicate  subject. 


BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

96 


3  9999  05982  093  4 


we  demand  of  the  powers  that  De,  as  well  as  of  the  opposition,  that  they  plart 
above  party  politics,  above  electoral  calculations  and  ideological  intransigencies, 
the  creation  of  conditions  that  lead  to  the  definitive  erradication  of  this 
repeated  spectre  of  terror  in  our  country. 


Thus  people  will  feel  that  the  institutions  are  working  on  behalf  of  their 
legitimate  interests.  That  those  who  are  carrying  out  their  mandate  do  It  in  the 
service  of  their  electorate.  It  is  clear  that  the  government  bears  the  heaviest 
portion  of  responsibility.  It  is  to  the  government  that  we  look  In  the  first  place 
with  a  claim  for  clear  proposals  formulated  under  the  --esponslbility  of  true 
statesmen  having  in  mind  the  common  good  no  matter  what  the  political  cost. 

Dear  fellow  countrymen,  while  I  speak  to  you  I  see  in  front  of  me  only  a  few 
meters  away  the  faces  of  tormented  relatives  bearing  photographs  of  those  who 
have  not  yet  been  found.  Some  are  familiar  faces.  I  speak  now  on  behalf  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Argentine  Jewish  community.  Our  responsibility  is  to  continue  the 
struggle  without  respite.  With  energy,  without  surcease.  To  accomplish  results 
not  merely  in  the  interest  of  the  Argentine  Jewish  community.  Not  as  a  simple 
matter  of  interest  only  of  the  Jews  of  Argentina,  we  bPiieve,  on  the  contrary,  that 
we  are  lending  our  country  a  service  from  our  battling  position,  from  our  training 
for  the  struggle,  from  our  capacity  to  face  suffering  in  order  to  build  a  better 
world    It  is  not  In  vain  that  we  have  travelled  through  4000  years  of  history.  4000 
votirc  h:>v/o  nivpn  ii<;  manv  scars  Rut  thpv  hT^vo  ^ico  nv.-^r,  ,,c  ■»  •/icion  of  thp  wnrlri 

that  we  wishes  to  share  with  all  our  fellow  Argentines  And  this  vision  does  not 
allow  fear  to  prevail  among  us.  We  must  not  allow  terrorism  to  win  its  victory  by 
cornering  us  in  our  homes.  We  must  prevent  the  cowardly  aspects  of  the  human 
condition  to  take  over  our  being  because  the  nobility  of  the  Argentine  condition, 
the  courage  of  the  men  that  forged  our  history  is  not  marked  by  that  trait,  it  is 
marked  Dy  the  strenth  of  men  who  did  not  renounce  the  fight  for  liberty  and  liberty 
implies  enforcing  the  law  By  making  use  of  It  with  the  force  that  was  given  us  by 
our  condition  as  a  sovereign  people  refusing  to  be  directed  or  imposed  on  by 
aroitrary  force  or  savage  models  foreign  to  our  traditions 

God  will  that  this  vast  meeting  which  will  certainly  mark  the  history  of  Argentina 
as  the  tragedy  that  brings  us  together  today  has  already  marked  it,  serve  the 
purpose  finding  us  together  to  build  a  better  country  where  solidarity  among  all 
will  become  a  daily  reality  instead  of  being  the  product  of  misfortune.  Let  us  be 
united  for  important  things  at  all  times  and  let  us  understand  that  to  be  a  country 
in  which  justice,  fairness  and  solidarity  prevail,  each  one  of  us  must  fulfill  his 
obligations.  This  includes  all  our  citizens,  those  who  are  in  Government  and  those 
who  are  not.  We  who  are  in  the  field  assume  the  challenge  and  will  fight  to  make  it 
a  reality  Thank  you. 

o 


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